October Horse
by gorblimey2
Summary: House gets a strange request from his mother-help the nephew he never knew he had. He flies to Portland only to be swept up in a family drama that involves the gorgeous, but solemn woman who meets him at the airport, a riddle that must be solved.
1. Chapter 1

**OCTOBER HORSE**

**Chapter 1**

**Wednesday**

Wilson stood at the doorway and watched as House packed his black carry-on suitcase. The force at which House threw the clothes into the bag screamed just how angry he was.

"Where are you going?"

"My Mom wants me to go to Oceanside for Thanksgiving; she has some favor to ask."

"Your mother wants to ask you a favor?"

House shrugged.

"And you're going to stay with your mother for your two weeks of suspension?"

"Three. I'm suspended for two and I put in vacation for the third."

"Have you talked to Nolan about what happened? You know, get his input as to why you did what you did?"

"About what happened? _I saved a woman's life_, that's what happened!" House yelled at Wilson.

"Yeah, after performing an unnecessary brain operation that left her partially paralyzed."

House turned and clenched his teeth. He'd had enough second guessing. All the Monday morning quarterbacking was driving him crazy. "Yeah, well even the review panel said that all signs pointed to a tumor. I got it right in the end, she'll live now."

"Well, that's not why you're being suspended and you know it."

"So what if I diagnosed her while at the betting parlor?"

"Your failure to talk to her when she asked to see her attending before agreeing to the operation was one thing; but failing to show because you had to stay for _Charlie's Devil_ in the fourth at Windsor? That was what got you suspended. It's never the medicine; no one dares challenge your process or diagnosis. It's your patient interaction or lack of it that got you into this mess."

"Jesus Christ, you sound like the Board. Why don't you take your bitter judgment and judge someone who cares?"

"Fine, just give me a call when you land somewhere." Wilson said before walking out the door.

**Dear Readers, Please remember that reviews are the only payment we fanfic authors get! Even if it's just one word! Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Thursday, Thanksgiving**

Aunt Sarah met him at the airport. House couldn't avoid a smile when he saw her. She was his favorite Aunt, mainly because she wasn't as controlled as his mother. She had a little wild side in her and because of it, she had been his protector when his father flew into a rage.

"Your Mom was feeling a little under the weather today so I volunteered to pick you up," she said with an exuberance only Aunt Sarah could muster.

"Under the weather?" House repeated. He worried about his mother's health as she got older.

"Oh, nothing serious, just a bad cold. It's good to see you, Greggie."

He shook his head at the nickname, but returned the huge hug she gave him.

House rolled his suitcase out to the parking lot and immediately noticed the difference in the weather. The day was warm, not worthy of the jacket he wore, but he was too lazy to take his off. Slipping into his mother's Crown Victoria, Sarah maneuvered out of the busy parking lot as if she was in a Peter Seller's movie. House was praying that he'd make it to his mother's house in one piece.

"Oh, by the way, Blythe sold the house and moved into a condo. The house was way too much for her to take care of."

" 's this condo?"

"In Rancho Bernardo."

House sighed, "Great, she moved into God's waiting room."

Sarah laughed but said nothing. House was right; the average resident in Rancho Bernardo was closer to medicare than to nursery care. When they pulled up at the condo complex, House was pleasantly surprised. The homes were more like townhouses, each having their own back yard and sharing a wall with two neighbors. The landscaping was laced with ferns, palms, Bird of Paradise, hibiscus, and other tropical vegetation, giving the entire condo the appearance of a South Pacific oasis. The azure pool was down the hill from Blythe's unit. Surrounded by plenty of patio for tables and lounges, the pool sported a rock water fall that fell over volcanic rock into the pool. On top of the rock outcrop was a large spa with bubbling jets.

"Nice." House murmured.

"It is. It's three bedrooms, three baths and a little alcove office off the kitchen. Your Mom's bedroom is on the main floor. "

Before House could open the door, his mother appeared, smiling, but with a used tissue in her hand. "I won't kiss you because I'm sick, but give me a hug." Blythe said.

House grimaced, but secretly it was always nice to feel his mother's arms around him. They walked inside and House saw a large, open living room and kitchen area with a dining area off to the side.

"Honey, you're upstairs to the right."

House climbed the wood staircase with the black wrought iron rails to the second floor and saw that the bedroom door to the right was open. He rolled his luggage in and looked around. It was obviously her hobby room with a futon, not his favorite thing to sleep on, but he couldn't ask two old ladies to give up their beds for him.

Sitting above the sewing cabinet were photos of the family, mostly of him and his mother when he was young. There was one rare one where he was with his Dad, their arms around each other's shoulders. House stared at it and remembered the times that he and his Dad would go to truck rallies together. It was something they both enjoyed doing together. It made him sad-sad that his connection with his father was so tenuous and so sporadic. Looking to his right, he saw that the next photo was of him and his childhood best friend, Keith. The friendship had started out rocky but soon became one where the two spent most of their time together. Keith could make House laugh like no one else. Unlike Wilson, Keith was almost as ornery as House with a wicked streak of mischievous urchin in him. The photo was taken just before his parents had found out that the two boys had trapped rats and were letting them lose in old man McPherson's kitchen to pay him back for snitching on Keith and House when they papered the beautiful Carrie Ann's yard. They had been really close in their teens, like brothers.

House walked back downstairs to the breakfast bar and was greeted with a Rueben sandwich and side of his Mom's potato salad. "Thanks, Mom."

As he sat at the bar, his mother stood behind the counter and watched him eat like she had years before.

House was already anxious about the trip. His mother, from sturdy stock, rarely asked for favors. Dspite being seventy-two, Blythe prided herself on doing things on her own. This favor had to be one of those things that she couldn't do and it had to be big, or his mother wouldn't have asked him to come to California in person.

Sarah was nervous, constantly wiping down counters and looking over at Blythe.

"Jesus, Mom, you better tell me why I'm here or Aunt Sarah is going to burst."

Blythe gave her sister a look that told her to behave. "I might as well tell you, because if you agree you'll be on a plane tomorrow."

House felt a mixture of curiosity and trepidation rush through him.

Blythe took a drink of water, stared at the counter for a second and then faced him. "Greg, John wasn't your real father."

House let out a breath. "I know Mom; I did a DNA test on some cells I took from his ear when he died last year."

Sarah's jaw dropped, but Blythe didn't seem surprised.

"Well, your real father was Michael Huntington."

House gasped as he sat back to get his bearings. His eyes narrowed as he tried to analyze what his mother had just said. All his life he had been sure his father was the dashing best friend of John House, not Keith's father. "You slept with Keith's Dad?"

Blythe closed her eyes, letting out a disappointed sigh. "Yes, it was only once and we both regretted it, but I don't regret having you. John always thought your real father was someone else. I never told him the truth."

House shook his head as if it was filled with cotton and he was unable to process the information.

"Well, what is this favor you're asking of me?" He sat with his arms across his chest, unconsciously defending himself from whatever was being requested.

Blythe pursed her lips as her forehead formed deep valleys of anxiety. She looked from Sarah back to House. "Were you aware that Keith died a few years ago?"

House froze. He hadn't heard and now he wished it had remained that way. He'd always assumed that Keith was in his world, ready to help if House ever asked. It was a ridiculous notion, they hadn't seen each other in thirty-five years, but now House suddenly felt alone, very alone. He wished that Wilson was with him to soften the blow. "No, I hadn't heard," he said in a soft voice.

Blythe immediately walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She knew better than to hug him, he didn't like being hugged when he was upset. "Oh, darling, I'm sorry, I really thought you knew."

There was a long pause before anyone said anything or moved.

"What does Keith have to do with your favor?" He asked.

"Well, it's more about his nephew, Daniel, Steven's son. They live up in Astoria."

"Steven?" House was curious. Steven was Keith's younger brother. The two brothers were close, but very different. Keith was funny, wild, an alpha male. Steve was studious, serious, not docile, but certainly not one who enjoyed the spot light.

"Daniel has leukemia. The only thing that can save him is a transplant of some kind. They've checked everyone in the family."

Now House understood. "They checked everyone, but me."

Blythe swallowed hard and nodded.

"How do they know about me?"

"Michael told Keith just before he died that you were his half brother."

"So everyone knew Michael Huntington was my father except me?" House sniped.

Blythe didn't allow his tone to get a rise out of her. "Greg, we can argue over you being in the dark later, but they need your help now. Obviously they want to know if you'll be tested."

"I didn't have to fly all the way out here to be tested."

Blythe shrugged. "Perhaps, but I wanted to tell you all of this in person. I didn't know that you had already run a DNA test and knew that John wasn't your biological father. Anyway, there's a ticket to Portland, Oregon waiting for you at the airport. I know you'll be flying out on Thanksgiving, but apparently Daniel is finishing up his chemo and if it goes into remission they'll want to do the bone marrow transplant. If you are a match, they want to start harvesting the bone marrow right away. So, rather than do the test here and wait for the lab to finally get to it, they said they can rush the test up there. If you're a match, then they can start the harvesting."

House shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Why should I care about this kid?"

"Because he's your nephew and Steve is your brother. For God's sake, Greg, have some compassion."

House scoffed.. "Compassion for someone I've never met?"

"For your family. This is your family we're talking about."

He wanted to say no and catch the next plane back to Princeton, but the look on Blythe's face told him the real story. Blythe was worried that when she died, he'd have no family except Sarah. Sarah was childless and John House had been estranged from his family so House had never known any of the House clan. Even Blythe wasn't sure if John's sister was still alive or if she had children. This was Blythe's chance to leave House with family.

"Mom, this is your way of giving me an instant family, isn't it?"

"Greg…" She hesitated, shrugged and smiled.

Knowing he was going to regret it, he nodded. He found it hard to turn down his mother. "Fine, fine. I'll go to Astoria."

"Actually, you'll fly into Portland and they'll pick you up and drive you to Astoria."

"Who's they?"

"I don't know; I guess Steven. But we couldn't get a flight out until late afternoon tomorrow so you'll be able to spend most of Thanksgiving with us. Sarah's going to cook us a Turkey."

House's eyes grew big and he held his breath, but then Blythe snorted and they both broke out laughing.

Sarah put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Alright you two…I know, I know, my turkeys are usually too well done, but I'm going to make sure it's moist this time."

House winked at his aunt and she gave him a big loving grin back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Thursday Night**

By the time that the plane left San Diego International Airport, House was full of turkey (dry), his mother's sausage stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie. After the early dinner, Blythe, Sarah, Blythe's new male 'friend', and House all sat down and played a game of Trivial Pursuit that House's mother won, much to House's surprise and humiliation. It had been a good day, one that he had surprisingly enjoyed. His mother seemed more relaxed these days, his aunt was still a real pistol and the 'friend' had a sense of humor that seemed to jive with House. Blythe and Sarah had kept him amused with their stories about their childhood on the family farm in Tennessee.

House fell asleep and had to be awakened by the flight attendant who politely asked him to put his seat in "an upright position" because they were landing in Portland. Looking out the window, it was a moonless night, making the city lights the only illumination on an otherwise pitch black sky. House had tried to call Steve on the cell number he'd given Blythe, but it went straight to voice mail. House left a message that he would be using the ticket and hung up.

Hobbling down the airport corridor, House was looking for someone who reminded him of a Huntington, which now he realized reminded him of himself—tall, light brown hair, blue eyes. The crowd around the baggage carousel thinned out as the luggage disappeared into the hands of the travelers. House looked past the last couple still waiting for their golf clubs and saw a short woman, dressed in dark boot cut jeans, a Levi's jacket lined in sheep skin and black cowboy boots standing with her arms across her chest, staring at him. On top of her head was a beige cowboy hat, giving her the appearance of having stepped off a ranch in Montana rather than the hippie streets of Portland, Oregon.

House grabbed his bag and rolled towards her. She was in her mid to late thirties, her eyes steely, her body stiff, very pretty with petite features and blond hair pulled back in a pony tail. With looks like hers, you'd imagine her to be sweet, the girl next door, but there was something, a vibe, that told you not to mess with her. His curiosity piqued, he was hoping that she was his ride.

She walked a few steps towards him. "Dr. House?" Her voice was flat. It wasn't really a question, more of a greeting.

"Yes."

"I'm Kate, Kate Monaghan."

"Okay, so now what?"

She motioned to the doors and they started walking. House handed her the carry-on which she accepted without a word, rolling it behind her. "I'm going to take you to stay at my house. Steve and Ann are with Daniel at the hospital; Danny had a bad week. I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow morning. Are you hungry?"

"No, I filled up on turkey and the trimmings. I could use a drink."

"I can stop at a bar, a liquor store or I can fix you a drink when we get home."

"How far to your house?"

"Sixty-eight miles."

"Is that how far Astoria is?"

She shook her head as she pulled out her keys and clicked the remote. The trunk on the SUV opened automatically as they walked up to it. Without saying anything, Kate picked his suitcase up and threw it into the back of the SUV.

"The hospital is in Seaside, another forty miles from my house."

"Oh."

They both got in. House realized that the SUV smelled like spices and vanilla. He looked around but didn't see an air freshener. Leaning over he took of whiff, causing Kate to pull away, her whole body at attention. It was her perfume.

"Obsession?"

Rolling her eyes, she didn't respond, but he was right. It was her favorite perfume; she'd been wearing it for years. Kate maneuvered out of the airport parking lot and drove south towards the city of Portland.

"I thought Astoria was north-east?"

"I live in the mountains west of Portland, south of Astoria."

"Mountains?" House was alarmed; he could see that the clouds were moving into Portland from the west. They drove through the city until they reached the entrance to Route 26 and then started the climb out of Portland and into the mountains. She said nothing and House remained quiet simply to test how long they would go without talking. Thirty minutes later, as they climbed the forested highway, the sky became white with snow. House watched as the headlights caught the flakes in the beams. Just as they came around a bend the lights hit the side of a car that had obviously spun out and was now in a ditch.

She didn't say a word as she eased the SUV over and jumped out, pulled a chain out of the back and attached it to the hitch on the back of her car. She walked a few steps towards the woman who was standing forlornly on the side of the road next to the car patting herself to keep warm. House could see two, maybe three, kids in the car from the light of the rear taillights. Debating whether he should get out to help her, he took a look at the vapor coming from their breath and decided it was too cold outside to be valiant so he sat and observed.

It took a few minutes, but Kate managed to hook the chain around the bumper of the car and then she retrieved a shovel from the back of her car and dug two trails in front of the woman's front tires. She grabbed a bag of sand that was obviously kept in the trunk for these occasions and threw several handfuls into the trench to give the tires traction.

Kate said a few words to the woman and then climbed back into the cab giving House a strange look that he couldn't read. Was she amused or pissed that he didn't get out and help? He couldn't tell.

"Hold on, we may spin a little."

"Why didn't you just call triple A?" He asked.

"They won't make it up here from Astoria, the sand trucks haven't been by and, even if they did, it would take them several hours. That lady's already been stuck in that ditch for over an hour. The kids are cold and hungry. Now, like I said, watch out…we may spin."

True to her word, the SUV snaked and fishtailed before finally pulling the car out of the ditch. The woman, her car back on the road and running, gave Kate the thumbs up. Kate jumped out and unhooked the chain, waved at the woman and her kids before throwing it into the back and then getting into the cab of the SUV.

Fifteen minutes later they took a side road off of Route 26 and followed it deep into the woods. It was slow going, the snow was piling up rather rapidly making it hard, even for a four wheel drive to keep going.

"Isn't this early for snow?"

She nodded. "For this much snow, but not unheard of." She went silent again, concentrating on the road in front of her.

House was glad it was her and not him that was driving. The road twisted and turned through the tall pines narrowing and then widening as they traversed several miles. Occasionally there were drop offs on the passenger's side sometimes as deep as several stories high. He thought he could feel the wheel trying to catch the gravel road as the SUV pulled back from the edge. His heart leaped into his throat. _Crap, that was close. But she doesn't seem fazed. I guess this is par for the course._

Kate turned the SUV into a long dirt and gravel driveway and then circled around so that the SUV faced out of the drive. House turned in the seat to look at the house behind them. It wasn't really a house; it was a log cabin, a large one. As he opened the door he was hit with a strong cold wind that sent shivers through him and made him want to climb back into the warm cab. Kate took off towards the cabin after retrieving his luggage from the back. House followed her onto the wide wraparound porch and watched as she opened the large rough hewn door and turned on the lights.

They entered a grand room that was dominated by a large rustic rock fireplace which spanned up the tall imposing two-story room. The ceiling had rough log beams and two huge antler chandeliers that hung over the room. Several large seating areas were assembled throughout the room, the largest being placed around the fireplace. Overstuffed leather and suede furniture, large crocheted throws and a beautiful Native American woven rug in rusts and indigo blue covered the floor next to the hearth. The room was imposing, yet cozy. The house itself was a piece of art. It was huge, expensive, but with a feeling as if it had been furnished with a determination to make it a family home. The furniture was comfortable, beautiful but practical—kid friendly. Yet there weren't any signs of a kid.

Walking through the great room, the back consisted of a dining area with another large chandelier and a table that seated eighteen easily. Beyond the table was the open style kitchen with a large breakfast island with eight wood stools and a copper and gray colored granite polished to a high gloss. The cabinets were custom reclaimed pecan wood with matte black hardware. Stainless steel appliances, an Aga stove and a custom wood hood graced the long kitchen that spanned most of the back wall of the house. The kitchen was immaculate, as if it was hardly used. No drawings graced the refrigerator.

"The guest room is down here on the first floor through that hallway over there. There's beer, wine and water in the refrigerator. You're welcomed to any food you find in the pantry or refrigerator. Now, about that drink…I have a full bar over there and vodka in the refrigerator. What would you like?"

"Single malt, do you have a single malt?"

"Glenmorangie. Will that do?"

House let the slightest of smiles pass over his lips. It was a very expensive whiskey. "That's rather generous of you."

She shrugged. "I don't care who drinks it."

Kate went around to a glass cabinet, opening it to reveal what House could only describe as the upper shelf of any commercial bar. It was filled with top-notch liquors and mixes. After filling a glass, she handed it to him and then nodded for him to follow. She stopped and grabbed his luggage pulling it across the pine floor and into the hall. Flipping on the light in the room, House was pleased to find a comfy queen sized bed, a miniature version of the great room fireplace, a plasma television over the fireplace, an oversized couch and chair. Looking over her shoulder he could see a slate floor which graced the ensuite bathroom.

_Sweet. _"Very nice." He said.

"There's a walk in closet with plenty of hangers and drawers to unpack your clothes. If you don't mind, I'm very tired and want to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning, Dr. House."

"Greg. Call me, Greg."

"Good night, Greg." Kate said softly, her voice reflecting the fatigue in her face.

"Good night, Kate."

She started unbuttoning her jacket as she walked back out to the great room. He followed and watched as she grabbed a bottle of Cognac and ascended the curved staircase to the second floor. Curious, he wanted to rummage around to get more information on this woman and her connection to his nephew, but he too tired; it was almost ten in Oregon and One A.M. in Princeton.

House took advantage of the comfortable bed with Italian duvet. Turning on the television, he kicked back with a whisky and watched a movie. Half way through he woke up having dozing off. Clicking the remote, he went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, undressed down to his boxers and crawled under the covers and turned off the lights. Surprisingly, he fell into a deep sleep almost right away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Dear Readers- Thanks so much for the reviews, they're the juice that keep me writing!**

**Chapter 4**

**Friday**

"Greg?" Kate crept into the bedroom and stood watching as he slept. His arm was up over his head resting on the pillow revealing the curvature of his muscles. The hair on his chest was turning silver to match the hair on his head. Any other time in her life she would have thought him handsome, but now she felt detached from such sentiments. He was just a man to her, a man who might help her redeem herself. She kneed the bed, shaking it and House gently. "Greg, we have to go in to the hospital for your tests."

She saw him swallow and then try to open his eyes. After a few seconds of grimacing, he fixed one of his bold blue eyes on her and nodded to let her know he was awake.

"Coffee or Tea?" She asked.

"Coffee, milk and one sugar. You look ready to go."

"I am, but take your time, the salt trucks are just now getting to the back roads."

House watched her as she walked out of the room in her designer jeans and crisp white Oxford shirt. Her hips were swaying softly, just what he would expect from a mature woman whose hips have spread with either age or childbirth. Her ass wasn't thin, but it wasn't wide. He had to admit, her ass had a nice, womanly curve to it. A flash of him banging her from behind passed through his brain. He could envision the white orbs of her cheeks sticking up, his hands riding on their curves as he plowed between her legs. Looking down he groaned with frustration; his morning wood was now stiff and uncomfortable.

_I need to get laid. _

Half an hour later after shaving, taking a shower and getting dressed, he joined her. She slid a thermos cup of coffee across the breakfast bar to him.

"Do you want me to fix you breakfast or do you want to eat when we get to the hospital?"

He wasn't really ready for food. "I can wait."

"Fine, then we should get going. It's going to take an hour to get to the hospital with this fresh snow and I've already had three calls this morning asking if you had arrived safely. I think they're anxious to get you tested."

"Sure." He grabbed his pea coat and started for the door.

Walking up to a closet, she reached in and grabbed a ski hat, throwing it to him along with some stretch gloves. "You might need these, it's down in the twenties out there."

"What time is it?" He asked her, but was already flipping his phone open to check. It was six-thirty-five. "Christ, when did you get up?"

"Four-thirty. I had to feed the horses and barn animals."

"You have horses?"

"And a cow, her calf and a few chickens. The neighbor usually comes over and takes care of them when I'm not around. He also gets the milk and eggs if he does, but I needed some milk for your coffee and the hen left us three eggs."

"I just drank unpasteurized milk?"

She shrugged. "Don't worry, I put some extra toilet paper in your bathroom. Besides, it was in your _hot _coffee." Grabbing her keys, Kate passed him as they exited the house, not bothering to lock up.

They walked to the SUV. House noticed that the windows had been scraped and the engine was already running. This woman was amazing, she covered all the bases. People who could function before noon annoyed him. Climbing into the cab, he watched Kate walk down to the end of the driveway and checked the road. Apparently, she found it plowed and salted because she climbed in and they began their trip to Seaside. Just like the trip the night before, she said nothing, concentrating on the road in front of her instead of chit chat. House couldn't figure out what made her so enigmatic. She seemed to exist in her own world, putting up the proverbial wall to keep everyone else out and that included him.

Driving along Route 26, only one lane traveling each way was open and it was slow going. He was happy that she loaned him the hat because he was freezing until the heater kicked in and warmed the cab. Looking out the window the beauty of the forest finally made an impression. All of the branches were heavily laden with snow and the entire scene was a serene white with patches of green pine dotting the horizon. It looked like a post card from some ski resort in Switzerland.

"Mind if I put on the radio?" House asked.

She took a sip of her coffee and shook her head to let him know it was okay. House pushed the button and hit the tabs for each of the stations she had stored. He found one that was announcing the news and weather reports.

"…_Developing in the middle of the northern Pacific is a potent system set to unleash severe storms, heavy rain, snow in the mountains and gusty winds through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. The system is expected to gather itself by tomorrow night and will shift to the east by mid next week—"_

"Damn." Kate mumbled under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

She shook her head. "It's going to be difficult getting you up and down the mountain over the next few days. We'll see. Maybe Steve will want you to stay with him."

They pulled into the parking lot of Providence Seaside Hospital, about fifteen miles south of Astoria. It was a small hospital; the main building occupied one expansive floor. There were several outer buildings with two stories, but it was nothing in comparison to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. House wondered if the hospital even had the necessary tools to complete a transplant or stem cell transfer.

Walking into the entrance, several nurses nodded a greeting at Kate. House followed her down the corridor into a ward with eight private rooms that radiated out from a large nurse's desk. Standing at the desk was a man dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt. He turned and smiled at House as the man walked towards House, hand extended.

"Greg? I'm Steve."

House would have recognized him anyway. He looked like a plainer version of Keith. The last time House had seen Steve he was only twelve years old and a pain in the ass. Where Keith was ornery and curious, Steve was priggish and afraid of his shadow. House wondered if he'd grown out of it.

"I can't tell you how much this means to us." His voice was genuine, full of deep gratitude.

House ignored the thanks. "Where's his file?"

Steve looked at Kate who gestured to the nurse. The nurse produced the file for House. Surprised by this little performance, House looked at Kate sideways.

She could see the bewilderment in his face. "I'm the head of Oncology."

He tilted his head slightly. "Really?"

Without any change of expression she simply said, "Really."

House reviewed the file and could see that the best chance his nephew had was a transfer of stem cells from a healthy donor to the boy. House also noted that the kid had his blood type, AB positive, which meant that House's father, Michael Huntington, was probably AB+. Daniel had AML, Acute myelogenous leukemia, a form of leukemia that could develop in days or months. Apparently, Daniel, a star baseball player, had contracted the disease two years ago. His first symptom was mind numbing fatigue. When he was first diagnosed with anemia, Kate had ordered a full work up, obviously concerned because she saw bruising on his legs. Caught fairly early and treated, the disease had gone into remission and then returned a year later. It was now being treated aggressively with chemotherapy to force it into remission so that a stem cell transplant could be accomplished once a donor was found. House looked through the results and it didn't surprise him that Daniel's father was the closest match with two out of three of the major HLA factors, but Kate didn't feel comfortable doing the transplant with anything less than three out of the three major ones. She was hopeful that a better donor could be found. Although Kate was active in Daniel's care and listed as his attending, she wasn't his direct caretaker. A resident named Ryanne Lowe was. House wondered why the head of oncology had taken such a personal interest in Daniel.

"I'm going to check on Daniel." Kate said as she walked into one of the rooms.

House closed the file and followed her. The first thing he saw was the lovely view of the sea. The second was that the teenager in the bed had his blue eyes and they were staring at him. It had never occurred to House that his blue eyes had come from Michael Huntington, but now he remembered that he and Keith often received compliments on their blue eyes. Not only that, several people had remarked on the fact that they could be brothers. It should have been a clue, but House had focused more on the family friend with the birthmark on his scalp as his father. Wishful thinking? Maybe. The man with the birthmark was a well-liked pilot with a reputation for always having a book in his hand. House liked the idea that his dad was the cerebral hero.

But, when House thought about it, Michael Huntington had been no slouch. His Dad, John House, had even remarked that Michael was the most logical thinker in the squad, by far the best stategist, but also the laziest, getting everyone to do his work by charm and manipulation. Keith was the same way, always scoring high on intelligent tests, but barely getting by with C's. Keith had hated school, but loved learning.

The sound of a bedpan being dropped down the hall brought House back to Earth. The boy now staring at him was tall and bone thin, not unusual for a cancer patient. Having just finished chemotherapy, he was probably still puking his guts out, the proof being that there was a small receptacle on the tray just for that purpose.

Steve introduced House. "This is your uncle, Dr. Gregory House. He's here to see if he is a match."

The teenager nodded at House. "Thanks." Then he turned back to his Dad. "I didn't know I had another uncle."

Steve looked uncomfortable. "Greg is our half-brother. Grandpa Mick was his father. Frankly, I didn't know he was related until recently. Greg, Keith and I used to hang out…or you might say I tried to hang out with them, they were older and meaner."

The boy gave House an analytical eye, sizing him up. House had to admit that he knew that look, he'd given it a thousand times over his lifetime. "Where do you live?"

House took a seat. "Princeton."

The kid perked up. "I want to go to Princeton!"

House gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "What major?"

"Physics."

"Good school for Physics. Good school for just about anything. Got the grades?"

Daniel looked away, his lips turning down slightly. "Yeah, until I got sick. I've got a lot of catch-up ahead of me."

"Don't worry, Princeton loves a sob story. What could be more compelling than a star athlete and student who beats leukemia?"

Daniel smiled, mostly because his father frowned, finding House's words to be too cynical. But Daniel was cynical too, which didn't go down well with his father. His uncle Keith had appreciated his sense of humor, but Steve had always frowned when the two of them got going. Daniel pressed the button to raise his bed. He looked to Kate and asked, "Aunt Kate, how likely is it that Uncle Greg can be my donor?"

Kate, who had been looking at stats and adjusting his medication, stopped. "Doubtful, but he's got a much better chance than a stranger."

"Well, I have a flight back to Princeton tomorrow, so let's get started." House announced. The fact that House had booked a flight said volumes. It meant that he doubted seriously that he would be a match. The room grew quiet; the only sound was the equipment doling out the meds to keep Daniel from throwing up and the nutrients to keep him from starving.

"This way, Greg." Kate motioned to the door.

House got up and was surprised to find Daniel extending his hand. Taking a deep breath, he reached over and shook it.

"Thanks, Uncle Greg."

"No problem."

Kate walked a few steps ahead and then realized that House might be having trouble keeping up. She stopped, turned and gave him a polite smile, waiting for him to catch up.

When he reached her, he couldn't contain his anger. "You didn't tell me you were Daniel's aunt. You're either his mother's sister or you were married to Keith, which is it?"

She wasn't flustered by his explosion. "Keith."

Shaking his head in disbelief. "Why didn't you just tell me when we were driving?"

"I just thought you knew."

"Well, you have a lot of explaining to do."

"I owe you nothing. Now this lab is where we'll do the preliminary test." She opened the door to the brightly lit waiting room. House could see through a separate door that blood was being drawn in the next room. Six people waited their turn. "If you'll follow me, I'll draw your blood for you."

"The head of Oncology is going to do the grunt work?"

She shrugged. "I think I'm going to draw ten vials if that's okay with you. I'd hate to have the preliminary test come back as a possible match and you be on a plane for Princeton before we can test other samples for the remaining markers."

"_Ten?"_

"Yes. You do know that if you're a match you'll have to get a chest x-ray, more blood work, urine analysis, and an ECG? We have to make sure that you'll hold up to the procedure and won't pass any cooties to Daniel."

"What exactly are you going to do? A bone marrow transplant?"

"Probably not. I think you will do better if we do a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Collection."

"Why?"

"There's more of a chance that you could experience significant pain after a Bone Marrow Transfer than with a PBSC. With your previous infarction, I don't really want to risk causing you additional pain along the sciatic nerve."

"How do you know about my pain?"

"As your attending physician, I had your records emailed to me yesterday."

He was about to call her on the carpet, but he appreciated her concern for his welfare. "Will it give Daniel his best chance?"

She nodded. "The way we do it now, yes. However, it does mean that beginning five days prior to transplant, you'll receive one to two daily injections of a drug called granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). It will stimulate the recruitment of bone marrow stem cells into the circulating blood. Then we filter your blood and harvest the cells from your blood."

"What side effects can I expect?"

"The G-SCF can cause headaches and bone pain, which are typically relieved with Tylenol or ibuprofen. Obviously we won't be using Vicodin."

House rolled his eyes and watched as she took vial after vial of blood until there were fifteen. Once she undid the rubber band from around his upper arm, she applied a band aid.

"You're good. I hardly felt that."

No smile, just a simple, "Thanks."

"When will we know?"

"I'm putting a rush on it show we should have our answer this afternoon. The problem will be confirming whether Daniel is in remission, it's a little soon to tell."

"When will you know that?"

"A few days, maybe a week, depends."

"So I might have to fly back out in a week or two?"

"If you can't stay for the next week then yes. That is if you're a match."

"What are my chances?"

Her eyes turned sad. "Only about one in twenty, if that."

House nodded that he understood. "Well, it's better than nothing."

"That's true. I have to do rounds and take care of a few things. Perhaps you'd like to spend time with your family?"

He sighed, indicating it wasn't really his cup of tea.

"I promise I won't be too long. Then I can run you back to the house or wherever you'd like."

"Fine." House acquiesced.

House made his way back to the darken room and discovered that Steve had gone to work and in his place was Ann, Steve's wife, a pretty woman in her early forties with brown hair, highlighted by lighter, almost blond streaks. She was medium height with plump cheeks and a somewhat plumper bottom. Jumping up from her chair as soon as he walked in, Ann looked at his cane before she even looked into his eyes.

"You must be Greg!"

"You recognize the cane?"

Daniel laughed.

Flustered, Ann blushed a bright crimson. "I'm sorry, but Steve told me that you walk with a cane and I've been watching that door for a cane. Sorry."

"So, you married Steve and Kate married Keith?"

She seemed confused by the segue. "Yes, that's right."

"Mom, can you get me a seven-up?"

She looked at House and then Daniel. "Uh, sure honey. Greg, do you want anything?"

"I'm hungry; can you bring back a roll or something?"

She nodded, grabbed her purse and took off leaving House with his nephew.

Settling back in the vinyl recliner and checking out the television, House saw that Daniel was watching a truck rally. "Cool, Grave Digger." The bright ebony truck with blinding chrome stormed over four school buses in one go.

Daniel grinned. "You like Truck Rally's?"

"Dude, I've been a VIP at the Grand National."

"Cool." Daniel was impressed.

Since Daniel seemed to be comfortable with him, he decided to be blunt. "Hey, what happened to Keith?"

Daniel's grin dropped. "I don't know if I should say anything. My parents talked about it before Dad left for work and he thought he should be the one to answer your questions if you had any."

"Dude, what's the big deal? He's dead, telling me how it happened isn't going to change that."

Daniel squirmed a little and looked down at the remote in his hand. He finally looked up and made eye contact. House realized that he was having a hard time talking or even thinking about it. The bond between nephew and his uncle had clearly been tight.

"I swear, my Mom and Dad will tell you whatever you need to know."

"Yeah, alright."

"I miss Uncle Keith. It's hard on everyone. The only time we see Aunt Kate is here at the hospital. Even then it's awkward."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry Uncle Greg, but you should talk to my Dad."

"Yeah, okay."

For the next hour they watched television, occasionally sharing information about a truck or a driver and sometimes about their lives in general. House found that he really liked his nephew; they shared a lot in common.

A nurse walked in with Daniel's next round of nutrients. "Do you have your appetite yet?" She asked.

Daniel hunched his shoulders. "I think I might be able to eat a little. But first I need to take a pee."

The nurse motioned for House to leave which he was reluctant to do, but Daniel looked as if he expected him to leave, so House got up and started to walk around the hospital. He was surprised to find that it actually had a few pieces of state of the art equipment, but other than that, the hospital was unimpressive. What he really wanted to do was to find a computer and Google Kate, but he wasn't sure where to go to do it.

After half an hour of wandering around, he saw Ann looking for him. She was carrying a small plastic bag, probably his roll. He waved to her and she smiled, practically running to give him the food.

"There you are! I've been looking for you. They only had cinnamon rolls."

"That's cool. Have you seen Kate? We're supposed to take a little tour of the city."

Ann shifted her weight and looked uneasy. "I don't know where she is."

"Well, I'll keep looking."

"We were hoping you would come over for dinner tonight."

"Dinner? Would I also be staying overnight?"

She winced. "I'm sorry, but my parents are here along with my sister and her two kids. They came up for the holidays and to see Daniel. We don't really have the room. But, they're going out to the movies tonight so I thought it would be a good time for you to come over for dinner. You'll have time to talk to Steve without interruption."

"Fine." He watched as Kate walked towards them wearing a pea coat over her designer jeans and cowboy boots. She was beautiful, but hollow. He realized her blue-gray eyes were lifeless as if she was just going through the motions.

Kate hung back and then approached House as soon as it looked as if Ann was going to leave.

Ann smiled briefly. "Hello Kate, I was just telling Greg that we'd like for him to come over for dinner tonight around six, does that work for you?"

Kate looked at her shoes. "Sure. Six."

Ann left. House walked over to Kate. "Well? Where are we going?"

"Would you like to go back to the house now?"

"I think I'd like to see a little of Astoria."

"There's not much to see. We can go to Fort Clatsop where Lewis and Clark ended their trip or to Cape Disappointment where they first camped here in Oregon."

"That's fine, maybe then you can tell me why you and Ann don't get along?"

"Or we could go to Station Camp. It's thought to be the most significant Lewis and Clark campsite along the lower Columbia River. During their stay there, the Corps of Discovery interacted and traded with ancestors of the current Chinook Indians."

House snickered. "You really know how to have fun here in Astoria."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Friday Afternoon**

Kate didn't respond to his sarcasm. Instead, she walked out to the parking lot to the car, her face tightly composed. House climbed into the passenger seat and ate the roll Ann had purchased as Kate drove to Fort Clatsop where they spent over an hour going through the exhibits. House actually found the Fort to be interesting and the story of the Lewis and Clark's miserable experience during their winter in Astoria to be rather entertaining, especially since the entire fort was blanketed with several feet of snow which he imagined is how Lewis and Clark experienced it. Afterwards, she took him to a café overlooking the Columbia River for lunch. He was amazed as to how large and menacing the river was as it spilled out into the Pacific Ocean. The gray sky opened up and it began to spit out a freezing rain as they both sat quietly nursing a cup of coffee. Kate stared out, devoid of all emotion. She wasn't mentally there, in the little eight table café with the grand view of the sea. She was as far away as she could get and House wondered why.

After lunch, she drove him the forty minutes up to her house. Some of the snow had melted, but was beginning to freeze into sheetso of ice with the late afternoon drop in temperature. When they walked in, the house was cold so she immediately started a fire in the fireplace, turned on the heater and then excused herself so that she could go out to the barn and tend to the livestock. As she approached the barn, she could smell the familiar odor of hay and cow dung. Unlike most people, she didn't mind the smell; it reminded her of the good times she spent with Keith milking the cow and riding the horses together. Walking towards the bales of hay, the stress of being around House, Steve, Daniel, and Ann was overwhelming. Kate felt her knees give way and her body crumble to the ground. She didn't move or maybe she was unable to move, whatever it was, she wanted to sleep. Her entire body was exhausted from trying to avoid the feelings just underneath the surface. Surprisingly, she fell asleep. Sleep-the only time that she didn't feel dead.

House found the computer in the office on the main floor and started it up. When it reached the desktop, it asked for a password. House cussed under his breath. "Damn, damn." He tried Keith, the address, anything he thought it might be, but after twenty minutes he admitted defeat and went upstairs to snoop around for information only to find that three of the rooms, including her bedroom were locked up. The remaining doors led to bedrooms that were obviously unused. There was nothing to learn from them.

It was four-thirty when House finally decided to take a shower and get ready for his excursion back down the mountain to Steve and Ann's house. Around five he heard her come in through the back kitchen door. He walked out to meet her.

Kate looked up and saw that his hair was wet and his clothes clean. "We need to leave in a few minutes if we're going to make it down the hill." She had a bit of hay in her hair and looked exhausted.

"I'll get my coat."

A few minutes later they were on their way down the mountain to Steven's house for dinner. Once again, they drove in silence. House was frustrated, he wanted information and she wasn't giving him any. He was hoping that tonight she and Steve might be able to provide him with some answers. They drove into a small suburb with houses built in the pre-WWII twentieth century. They pulled up in front of a two story, Georgian-style brick home with an Eagle on front of a portico that covered a wide porch. On top of the roof was a chimney with a satellite dish attached. If House had to classify Steven's position in life from his house, he'd say that he was upper middle class, but certainly not in Keith and Kate's league.

Kate pulled up to the curb and waited with the motor running. House opened the door and started to get out but then noticed that she wasn't turning off the engine. He turned to find her still in her seat belt, waiting for him to exit.

"I'll pick you up around nine." She said without expression.

"You aren't coming in?"

"No, I'm going to go back to the hospital and do some work, see how Daniel is doing."

He was going to protest, but what could he say to change her mind? He could tell that there was some awkwardness between her and Ann earlier that afternoon. Maybe they didn't get along. He slammed the door closed and approached the front porch. Kate calmly took off, the hum of her engine growing dim as she turned the corner. House rang the bell, praying that they'd answer quickly, the temperature was well below freezing and he was starting to dance to keep warm. A porch light came on and Steve opened the door.

"Come on in." He stepped aside and let House enter.

"Sorry, I should have brought a bottle of something." House offered lamely.

"No, no…don't worry about it. We owe you so much for coming out here. I know it was an inconvenience."

Ann came out wiping her hands on a dish towel. "What would you like to drink, Greg?"

"Whiskey?"

"Oh, I'm not sure…" She looked at Steve.

Steve thought for a second and nodded. "I might have some, let me look."

Realizing that they weren't the whiskey type, House put up a hand. "That's okay, I'll take a red wine?"

Ann nodded at Steve and then went back to the kitchen.

"Great." Steve disappeared behind Ann and then came back with a glass of cabernet.

"Well, did you get to see any of Astoria?" He asked as he poured the wine into an expensive wine glass.

"The forts."

"Really? That's great. I find them fascinating. It boggles the mind what Lewis and Clarke went through to get here and back."

"Don't Kate and Ann get along?" House said without a perceptible segue.

Steve tilted his head and furrowed his brow. "What?"

"I just wondered why Kate wasn't invited?"

"Oh. It's not that we don't invite her; she just doesn't come anymore. In fact, I don't think she does anything anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, her taking you out today is rather a shock for us. I haven't heard of her actually going out for an afternoon in a long time. Not since…"

House watched as Steve trailed off into his own uncomfortable thoughts.

"Since the accident?"

Steve nodded. "She goes to work and then home. I don't think she even goes to the grocery store very often. Her neighbors usually buy her whatever she needs when they go out."

"What happened?"

Steve shook his head as if to remember it was too much. He took a drink of his own wine and sat back in the leather chair. Keith took a deep breath. "Keith had just won another huge commercial skyscraper contract in Portland. You knew he was a major contractor in this area, right?"

"No, I didn't really keep in contact."

"Oh, well he owned the second largest contracting company in the state." House nodded as he watched Steve's foot flutter up and down nervously. "Anyway, he went out to celebrate with his operation supervisors at one of his favorite dives in Portland and, after too many beers, the bartender took his keys and offered to call him a taxi. He called Kate instead. It was three in the morning and apparently, she went down the mountain, picked him up and started to drive back. We're not sure exactly what happened, but my friend in the Sherriff's Department said she probably fell asleep. The SUV slid sideways on an icy patch and went over a small cliff; the passenger side hit several trees on the way down. Keith died immediately, Maxie died the next day."

"Maxie? Was that their dog?"

"Daughter. She was two. Kate couldn't leave her alone so she packed her up in the car seat and took her with her."

"Daughter." House said to himself, his stomach starting to turn. There was a long painful pause and then House asked, "Was she charged with vehicular manslaughter?"

"No."

"So, Keith and her daughter die and she's not charged with any crime? Instead, she inherits his fortune?"

"In a nutshell, but I don't think she did it with the intention of inheriting a fortune."

"So you don't blame her?"

Steve leaned forward. "I blame her or I did blame her. Hell, she walked away without a scratch and they were both in the ground. It didn't seem fair; it isn't fair. I was angry and went off at the funeral. Daniel had to pull me outside. She wasn't acting natural; she didn't even cry at the funeral. She just stood there, stoic, emotionless. It made me suspicious."

"Dinner is served." Ann announced from the dining room.

House and Steve walked into the formal dining room with the long cherry Hepplewhite table and sat down.

"And are you still suspicious?" House asked.

"Daniel started getting ill a few months after the accident. When they found out that it was Leukemia, they called her in straight away…I mean, she's the best in this area. Before she married Keith she practiced at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. She was on the fast track down there."

"Where did she go to med school?" House took a seat at the dinner table and waited for Ann to finish putting the food on the table.

"Uh…I think Michigan, Harvard…or Hopkins or something like that. Keith told her a story about the three of us in Okinawa and she said that she knew who you were because you were a legend at her school."

"Hmmm."

Steve looked at Ann, who was clearly curious about the conversation. He nodded to her, "I told him about the accident."

"Oh." She took a deep breath, gave House a bright smile and asked, "Greg, would you like some green beans with your casserole?"

House handed Ann the plate. "So she took care of Daniel's treatment?"

Steve hesitated. "She oversees his treatment as the head of Oncology and I can honestly say that she went all out pulling strings all over the place. He received the best of the new protocols, the most advanced therapies and went into remission for eighteen months. She caught it when it started to come back and immediately started searching for a donor. Once he's in remission, we're hoping to find a donor."

"Yeah, I kinda know that." House said sarcastically.

Steve chuckled. "I guess so."

"So, all is forgiven with Kate?" He asked both of them.

Ann piled the food on House's plate and when she handed it back to him she smiled again, but this was an uneasy smile. "It's hard to hold a grudge against a woman who holds the life of your son in her hands."

Steve put his fork down. "Before the accident we were all close, really close. Things were strained for a long time after it. Daniel is our buffer. She really has done a lot for him."

"She was the one who found you." Ann added.

"What?" House asked.

Steve put his glass down and leaned back in the cherry stained chair. "Keith never told me that you were our brother, but he had told Kate. When she found out that Daniel needed a donor, she checked out all the new treatments, ran all the tests and when none of our family matched Daniel, she approached me about finding you. She contacted your mother and told her what was going on. She even paid for your airplane ticket."

House silently ate his meal while he thought about it all. Looking up from his plate, he asked, "Tell me more about our Dad."

Steve stopped chewing and looked at his wife. There was an uncomfortable silence. "Dad was brilliant, but then you know that. He was a pilot in the beginning, but then he became an intelligence officer and when he retired he ran his own think tank…lots of Washington connections. He was a great strategist, in demand all over the world, but he only worked for the USA or, at their request, for other countries."

"I was really asking what kind of Dad was he?"

"Tough, but fair. He had a wicked sense of humor, always playing jokes on us. He coached our Little League teams for years. He was a good Dad, I miss him."

House remembered a lot of what Steve was saying. His memories of Michael were of a man with a very dry sense of humor and brilliant mind. House realized that there were tears in Ann's eyes. He stared at her. "Were you close to Michael?"

Ann shook her head and sniffed, trying hard to hold back her tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't even hear what you two were talking about. I was thinking about how we took everything for granted…Maxie, Keith, Daniel. Our lives were so ordinary. I'd give anything to have ordinary back in my life."

"It's okay, hon." Steve said, patting his wife's hand sympathetically.

House looked away. Their pain was overwhelming. Strange, but he actually felt lucky compared to his new found family. There was enough pain in them to last a millennium.

Eventually Ann recovered her composure enough to offer another spoonful of casserole to House who put out his plate to take it. She was a good cook, not very imaginative, it was only a lasagna, but it was tasty and filling. Good comfort food.

Steve could see how uncomfortable House felt and that was the last thing he wanted. He needed for House to feel accepted so that he'd want to help Daniel. Even if House wasn't a match, he was, from what Kate said, a very influential doctor and might be able to pull strings if it was necessary. Steve started talking about the stunts Keith and House used to pull, anything to make House remember how much House had cared about their brother.

House enjoyed the discussion. He especially enjoyed hearing about it from a different perspective. Steve had been too young to really participate in most of their schemes, but he wasn't too young to remember them or the punishments the parents doled out. The discussion came back to Keith's life before Kate and then Steve told House about their courtship. Kate had come to Portland for a convention and stayed with a friend, a male friend whose brother worked for Keith. They all met up in a bar and after six months of trips back and forth between Portland and Los Angeles, Kate moved north and they were married.

At nine, Steven's phone rang and he announced to House that Kate was outside waiting for him. As House put on his jacket, Steve took him aside. "If you feel awkward staying with her, let me know and I'll pay for a hotel while you're here."

House did feel awkward staying with her, but his curiosity out trumped his discomfort. "It's okay. She's quiet, doesn't impose on me. I'll be fine."

House nodded and Ann stepped into the foyer to give House a hug which House had a hard time returning. Steve shook his hand and he was out the door. Kate was waiting in the SUV, sitting upright. Steve and Ann waved to House and Kate. She gave a shy wave back to Ann and Steve as House climbed into the cab.

"Did you get any work done?" House asked as they pulled onto Route 26 to go up the mountain.

"Yes, I finished up my charting for the week. Daniel and I played poker. I lost ten bucks to him. He says I have a tell."

House almost smiled. He'd like to know what her tell was, but he said nothing. They rode back to her house under a clear, moonless night. There were so many stars out that House felt as if he were in the Philadelphia planetarium. The temperature had dropped even further and House could see that Kate was tense as they drove the steep rode off the 26 up the mountain to the cabin. Occasionally, House could see patches of ice which meant one thing—for every patch he could see, there was probably another patch of black ice that he couldn't. Is that what killed Keith?

Despite the ice, they arrived safely back at the cabin, entering it in silence. House was looking forward to taking a hot Jacuzzi. His leg had been aching all night from the cold.

Kate put her things down, hung up her jacket and walked over to the kitchen. "Is there anything I can get you before I go to bed?"

"A clean glass? I have the bottle of whiskey in my room. I'd like a nightcap before I go to sleep."

She reached into an upper cabinet and brought down a well glass, handing it to him. "Oh, I forgot. I received the preliminary test back—so far you're a match."

House felt a shock from his feet to his shoulders. "_What?_ Why didn't you stop and tell Steve and Ann tonight?"

"Daniel asked if he could call and tell them the good news. I've started the tests on the other vials of blood to see if you're really a match, but you're a four out of four on the main markers. If you hit eight out of ten, then we're a go. You'll need several other tests, basically an intense physical, but we'll only do that if everything else checks out."

"Yes, I know the routine." House shook his head in disbelief. "Strange, the whole time you were taking my blood, I was sure that I wouldn't match. Now that I do, it's become very real to me. I might be able to save Keith's nephew. How weird."

"It would be lovely. Daniel is a great kid."

"This must give you some comfort. You couldn't save your own kid, but maybe you can save Steven's."

She stared as if she couldn't believe he had said what he did. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a bottle of clear liquor and started for the stairs. "Goodnight, Greg."

He narrowed his eyes as he watched her walk steadily up the stairs, her back straight, eyes ahead. He'd really managed to get a barb in and for some perverse reason, it gave him great satisfaction. Steve may have a reason to forgive her for killing Keith, but he didn't.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Friday Night**

**Snow Angel**

The whiskey warmed him up as he waited for the Jacuzzi tub to fill. He wondered if she drank herself to sleep every night? He knew the drill; drown yourself in several stiff drinks topped with a Vicodin or two or three and then maybe you could sleep. Now it was usually a warm bath, a quick whiskey and an Ambien.

As he climbed into the Jacuzzi, the warm water swirled around his aching thigh, bringing him the much needed relief he sought. The cold was always the hardest on his leg and, boy, it was cold up in these mountains. Steve had said something about it being the coldest Thanksgiving weekend since 1953 and it didn't look as if it was going to let up anytime soon.

The timer on the Jacuzzi went off and the noise from the pump went silent. The house was so quiet it seemed unnatural. He was used to the sounds of the city, the white noise of traffic and humans in the background. This quiet was unnerving; it made him feel more alone than usual. There was a sound, the sound of a door opening. He wasn't sure what door it was, but it sounded as if it was on the ground floor where he was. Then it went silent. He laid his head back and rested until the water eventually cooled to the point where it was becoming uncomfortable. It was time to get out, so he pulled himself up and swung his leg over, eventually drying off and dressing in the lounge pants and t-shirt he had brought along with the flat slippers his mother had sent him for Christmas the year before.

Shuffling to the bedroom, he wanted a glass of water to take a Naprosyn before going to sleep. It would help keep the pain down while he slept to lower the risk of him waking up. He grabbed his cane and walked out to the kitchen stopping once to massage his leg. She had left a light on over the sink so that he could see where he was going if he got up. There was a sudden rush of bitter cold as he stepped into the kitchen. Walking across the wooden floor, he could now see that the back door was wide open and from what he could see, clouds had rolled in and it had been snowing again. He looked out and was surprised to see footprints, small, almost childlike footprints in the fresh snow leading down the stairs and out across the back into the forest.

House stepped out onto the porch. _What the fuck? It has to be her footprint. _

House went back inside, closing the door but not locking it and then shuffled back to his room with a glass of water. He was going to take the pill, but his curiosity was piqued and, more importantly, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. He had a feeling something was wrong, very wrong.

Grabbing his jacket, a hat and his cane, he started towards the kitchen where he rummaged around in drawers, almost giving up until he looked down and saw a flashlight charging in one of the plugs. He grabbed it and made his way outside, following the small footsteps through the mounting drifts of snow. The wind starting to whip up adding a chill to the already cold temperature outside. The footprints were starting to cover over from the light snowfall and the wind spreading the drifts around. His foot came down on a fallen branch causing a loud snap which startled him. House stopped, swallowed hard and almost turned around to go back inside, but his curiosity kept him going.

He was a good hundred yards into the woods when he saw something or someone on the ground twenty feet in front of him. Not sure what to expect, he was stunned when he found her lying on the ground in a fetal position, the snow piling up around her. The only thing she had on was a cotton nightgown that had blown up around her thighs. Her legs were a mixture of bright red and blue from the beginnings of hypothermia. The flashlight hit her face and she tried hard to look up, her head coming a few inches off the ground and then falling back to earth.

"Kate, get your ass up!"

"Did you hear her? " The words were slurred. "Did you hear her?"

"Who? What?"

"She keeps crying for me. She's lost."

"Who?"

But there was no response. He tried to arouse her with his cane, but she was either passed out from too much alcohol or unconscious from the cold. "Crap!" He looked around, but there was really nothing he could use to help him drag her. Bending down, he pulled her dead weight up under his left arm. She hung like a rag doll next to him as he half carried-half dragged her back to the house. His hands could feel her rib cage and he realized just how thin she was. _Did she ever eat?_

There was no way he was going to make it up the stairs so he rolled her up into the duvet on his bed and stoked the fire in the fireplace. Turning on the light, he examined her feet and hands. They were bright, bright red and two of the toes were blue. He knew he had to warm her extremities quickly before there was tissue damage.

As she lay on the bed, he rushed into the bathroom and ran tepid water into the jacuzzi tub, warm enough to start the thaw, but not too warm to cause damage. When it was half full, he unwrapped her. Strands of golden hair fell across her pale face. The white cotton gown had short puffy sleeves, four rows of lace on the chest and a tiny pink bow that graced the top of the gown next to her neckline making her look small and frail, like a little girl.

He put her over his shoulder. Carrying her into the bathroom, House gently laid her on the floor, propping her up against the toilet while he stripped down to his boxers. The only way he knew that he could keep her from going under in the large tub was to get in with her. House pulled Kate to the edge of the tub and then picked her up, balancing her on the edge while he climbed in. Once in the tub, he slid her into the water without knocking her around too much.

When she hit the water her body jolted, but then the muscles relaxed again, making her as floppy as a puppet without strings. In the water, House pulled Kate to his chest, wrapping his arms around her bony body to keep her as warm. It had been a long time since he had held a woman in his arms, even a drunk one. It was a stark reminder of how alone he was in the world. Fifteen minutes later, after adding hot water every few minutes, the water was no longer tepid, but quite warm. Kate's toes had gone from deep blue to red, a good sign. When he was sure that her toes and fingers were pink enough to get out, he pulled the plug, let the water drain and then stepped out, dragging her with him. As he laid her on the floor so that he could get a large towel to wrap her in, he saw that the wet gown was molded to her skin, leaving little to the imagination. Her pert breasts with the rose tipped nipples were barely hidden by the clinging cotton. Any other time and he'd be more than interested in what he saw, but right now, all he could think of was finding her something to keep her warm.

The gown had to come off; having wet clothes on her wasn't going to help. He didn't have time to take the clinging garment off the polite way, so he ripped it along the seams and managed to strip her nude. What had been hinted at a few minutes before was now completely revealed. Her breasts were lovely, but the rest of her was emaciated. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Obviously, she was good at hiding it.

As he toweled her off and then wrapped her in a thermal blanket, he could smell the vodka on her breath and coming from her pores. Still passed out, he was able to pull Kate across the wood floor to the edge of the bed and then stopped to pull the covers down. He managed to hoist her cocoon into the bed, covering her with the down duvet. Exhausted, he didn't bother wiping down the bathroom . Instead, he crawled in behind her and wrapped his arms around her to conserve body heat. Lying with the light still on, he wondered why? Why did she run into the woods?

House did one more check of her extremities and was pleased by what he saw. The red was fading and it was being replaced with a healthier pink, but now she was shivering as her body tried to regulate her thermostat. House turned out the light, wrapped himself around her again and eventually they both fell asleep.

**Your reviews are greatly appreciated...thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Saturday Morning**

It was a call on his cell that woke House up. He wasn't going to get it, he was enjoying the warmth and softness of the bed too much to take a call, but then he noticed that there was a sliver of sun coming through the curtain and his flight was at ten. He turned and grabbed the phone, looking at the alarm clock as he did. Seven-thirty…he still had time.

"Hello?"

"House?"

He relaxed; it was Wilson. "What?"

"Am I supposed to pick up you at Philadephia or Newark?"

"Philadelphia."

"How's it going?"

"I'm a match."

"_Really? _A match for what?"

He forgot that he hadn't talked to Wilson since he left Princeton. "My nephew has leukemia, I match 3 of the major loci."

"Wow, you are a match. But, you said nephew. You're an only—oh my God, you found your father's family?"

"My Mom did. A doctor contacted her and told her that my nephew has leukemia. Which reminds me, I'm not flying out of Los Angeles. I'm in some God forsaken place somewhere between Portland and Astoria, Oregon. My flight is American 114 out of Portland."

"I'm speechless. I hope you took photos. I'll pick you up tonight. Have a safe trip. Bye, House."

"Bye, Wilson." House hung up and turned over again, putting his arm back around Kate. He could tell by how tense her muscles were that she was awake and metaphorically crapping in her pants. Leaning in he put his lips next to her ear.

"Are you warm enough?"

Swallowing hard and mustering all her courage, she turned slightly and bravely looked him in the eye. "How did I get here?" Her eyes were swollen and she looked puffy from her drinking.

House chuckled. "I see, we're going to play the 'too drunk to remember' card?"

"Was there something I should remember?"

He realized that she was probably telling the truth. Her stupor last night was real enough. "You were drunk, you ran outside in the snow in your gown. By a fluke, I found the back door open and followed your tracks into the woods. You were passed out in the snow, close to having frostbite and hyperthermia. I brought you back in, warmed you and since I can't carry you up to your room, wrapped you in a blanket and put you in my bed."

She turned the brightest red and sighed. "I'm sorry to have put you through that."

"It's a good thing I was here or you'd be dead."

"I was thinking the same thing." Only House detected disappointment in her voice rather than gratitude.

"How do you feel?"

"I can't unravel myself." She was referring to the fact that he had wrapped her in a cocoon before tossing her in bed.

He stood up, grabbed the end of the blanket and pulled, rolling the blanket off her like paper towels around the cardboard center. Before he even reached the end, he began to smile to himself; he knew Kate was going to be mortified when she realized he had undressed her.

Her body rolled around and around a few times and then she rolled free, sprawling across the duvet.

"Jesus Christ!" She screamed as she came upright, her breasts and pubic region in full view. Grabbing the blanket, she scrambled to cover herself. "I'm naked…why am I naked?"

"Because I threw you in the warm water in your gown and then, when you were thawed out, I pulled you out. I couldn't let you stay in a wet gown, could I?"

It made sense, but she was still embarrassed. This virtual stranger had seen her completely naked. "I guess not."

"By the way, you need to eat. If you lose any more weight you're going to have organ failure."

Her clenched jaw told him that she didn't want him meddling. "Thank you, Dr. House."

"Greg."

She rushed out the door, but a few seconds later came back, the blanket still wrapped around her. The blond hair was sticking up and she looked tired. "Greg? Can I ask about that phone call you just took?"

He stood next to the bed in his boxers, refusing to cover himself. "Yes?"

"So, you're really going to leave? What about Daniel?"

"What about Daniel?"

"You're a match."

"Yes, but we don't know if he's in remission yet, do we? You have my blood. My best friend is an oncologist; he can run the remaining tests in Princeton."

She looked down as if she was contemplating what he had said. He wasn't sure what she was thinking from her expression. After a moment, she looked up. "I'll just put on some clothes and we'll take off."

He nodded as he started packing his bag.

Ten minutes later she came down dressed in faded jeans and a long sleeved poor boy, but what were missing were shoes. She leaned on the door jamb of the bedroom.

"You're feet are going to get cold." House noted, but knew there must be a reason for going barefoot.

"I'm afraid we're not going anywhere. We're snowed in. The roads haven't been cleared which means that they probably won't get to them until tomorrow since it's still snowing—hard."

House ran to the front door and opened it. The car was covered with a deep layer of snow and three more feet lay on the ground.

She weakly made a grand gesture, "I'll get out there and dig it out, but until they come by and clear the roads, we won't be going anywhere."

"Damn! Damn!" He turned; his eyes wide, nostrils flared

.

Her arms were still crossed over her chest. "I'm sorry, really I am. We should notify the airlines and see if we can get you on a flight tomorrow."

House exhaled with frustration and then closed the door, returning to the sofa in front of the fire.

Her voice softened. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I know what it's like when you're anxious to get home and something like this happens and your trip is delayed."

He leaned his head back on the leather couch and closed his eyes. The truth was that he had only made the reservation when he was at the hospital yesterday. Being around Keith's life, his family, his wife, had made him realize just how much he missed his old friend. It also brought home how much had been lost because neither had known they were brothers. House had let go of their connection when he entered med school, but Keith hadn't. Keith tried like hell to keep in touch, even sent him a Christmas card with a letter each year for some twenty-odd years. He called on House's birthday, but House never returned Keith's fervent request that he call sometime or that House come and see him. Obviously, Keith had eventually given up on the relationship, you can only bash your head against a rock so often before you realize you're getting nowhere. Keith's Dad died three years ago and according to Steven, it was on his deathbed that Keith had been told about House. By then Keith had a wife, a daughter, a whole new life. Re-establishing connections with a man who had ignored him for twenty-odd years was obviously the last thing on Keith's mind. Now House wished he'd returned just one of those calls or took one lousy trip out west.

Then there was the widow. Even before the strange events of last night, he was having trouble being around the woman who had killed his friend through her negligence. He understood how Wilson had felt after Amber died. He was angry that Keith was dead and he wanted Kate to suffer, but he had also found her to be good company and last night, he also found her to be very odd. The combination was lethal to a man like House. He was…intrigued. She was an anomaly and House usually loved anomalies, but not this one. He didn't want to solve this one-because he was afraid of what he'd find.

And then there was Daniel. He hadn't expected to like him, to really want to help him, but there was a connection from the minute he walked into the room. They shared the same sense of humor which was the same sense of humor he shared with Keith. House hated the fact that everyone was looking to him to be the savior, to make Daniel well again.

No, House didn't want any part of this family. He wanted to purge himself of these conflicting feelings. He just wanted to go home and so he had called the airlines the day before.

"Greg?"

He looked over at her. She was looking down, her thumbs in her back pockets, the poorboy sweater clinging to her braless breasts. He could tell from the way she avoided eye contact that she was trying to come to terms with waking up naked in his room. He snickered, "Hey, if it's any consolation, I wasn't really looking at the mole under your left breast."

She gasped, her eyes flying open. There was a pause and then she calmed herself. "Keith said you were cynical and crude; still, I don't get it. You come out here to help and then, when you could, you blow us off; you want to run back to Princeton. That's just plain odd."

He chuckled and sat up straight. "This from the woman who gets drunk each night and runs around in the snow hearing voices."

"Voices?" She tilted her head.

"Yeah, you kept hearing a female voice cry out for you. I assume it was your daughter you heard…crying for you to help her."

Her hands went to her chest and she stepped back as if he had shot her in the heart. She ran up the stairs and then a door slammed.

Why? Why did he feel the need to hurt her? She hadn't done anything except be nice to him. As usual, he struck without warning and then felt guilty afterwards. Part of him wanted to climb the wide lodge pole pine stairs and apologize, the other part wanted to go up the stairs and make her feel even more guilty for killing Keith. But, something told him that she was already feeling guilty enough.

House went into the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator, pulling out eggs and defrosting the bacon in the microwave. After making up a tray of eggs, bacon, toast and tea, he slowly climbed up the stairs without his cane, a difficult task which wasn't without some spilling of the tea. At the top of the stairs he looked at all the closed doors and tried to determine which one was hers. Since the view was out the back and the sun came in from the southwest, he chose the back room facing the southwest to try first.

Balancing the tray against the wall, he tried the door which was unlocked. Opening it, he saw that it wasn't a bedroom, but a library. Kate was sitting quietly in a chair near the window staring out at the snow coming down. Her head jerked around in his direction when the tea cup rattled on the tray. And then he saw the bottle of cognac and the half empty snifter next to her. House knew that he didn't have to say or do anything more to make her hurt, she was carrying a pain that only someone who had lost their husband and daughter could feel.

"Wow, eight-thirty and you're already hitting the booze. So, when you're alone is this how you honor their memory? By getting sloshed?"

"Get out." Her voice was controlled, but angry.

"I brought you food. You need to start eating…drinking a fifth a night when you're as thin as you are is going to kill you."

She laughed.

"Yeah, I know, it's probably what you were aiming for, right? Come on, I made breakfast."

"I'm having my breakfast." She said, holding the snifter up and knocking back the rest of the glass.

"I see; so when you're not working, you're drinking or running around naked in the woods?"

"Fuck off."

He grinned. "Well, finally. I finally got you to show some emotion besides self-loathing. Now, let's eat."

He put the tray down on a small table in between the two leather chairs that faced the windows with a view of the rolling hills behind the cabin. She sat in one chair, he took the other.

"I don't want your food."

"Fine, I'll eat breakfast while you drink yours. I'm sure Keith would have loved to see what you've done with yourself."

"Dr. House, would you please leave me alone?"

"Look, you brought me here so the least you can do is eat breakfast with me."

She ignored him as he grabbed a plate and began to eat, making sounds of pleasure as he inhaled the food. Finally done, he looked over at her. She was staring out the window, a fresh glass of Cognac in her hand.

"So this is what you've been doing for two years? Drinking yourself into an early grave?"

"What I do with my free time is none of your business."

"Maybe. But tell me one thing, did Keith love you?"

Her gray eyes flashed open at the question. "Of course he did. We loved each other very much."

"So this is how you show respect and love for someone who loved you? Pickle your liver?"

"What am I supposed to do? Join a grief counseling group?"

"Sounds like a start."

"Those groups are for people who_ lost _someone, not _killed _someone."

The phone rang. They both turned and looked at it. She stood up, wobbling a little and then picked up the phone from the table.

"Hello?"

House watched as she listened to whoever was on the end of the line.

"Okay. We're snowed in up here so I'll have to call you back."

House could tell that she was slurring her words ever so slightly. Two drinks and she was drunk. That was a good sign. It meant she hadn't built up much of a tolerance to heavy drinking yet. She wasn't quite an alcoholic.

Putting the phone down, she looked over at him. "The other fifteen vials of blood…all the tests…it looks as if you're a dream match for Daniel. It also looks as if he is going into remission. We should know for sure in a few days. If you can stay, we could start harvesting your stem cells by the end of next week and then you'd be free to go home-forever."

"I've decided not to do it." He said it as coldly as he could to emphasize that he wasn't joking.

There was a distinct look of disbelief on her face as she fell back in the chair. "What? You're not going to give Daniel your stem cells?" Leaning forward, she almost grabbed his hand, but held back. "It's his best chance."

"Tough, he's not my kid."

Staring at him as if he had just announced that he had killed the President of the United States, she begged, "Please, you have to do this for him. He's a great kid. He's the closest thing to Keith here on Earth. They were so much alike that we used to call him "Little K"…please?"

Pleading, perfect, he was hoping he'd get pleading out of her. He exhaled and shrugged. "I'll do it if you promise not to touch another drop of booze while I'm here."

She shook her head in bewilderment. "Why do you care whether I drink or not?"

"Let me see if I have it right. You're either dependent or quickly becoming dependent on alcohol to sleep. But, sometimes you don't get asleep before the alcohol just makes you drunk and stupid and you go off into the woods and almost get yourself killed. Right?" She didn't respond. "I just don't want you doing it while I'm here." The reality was that he had blown off Keith while he was alive, the least he could do was to keep her from damaging herself while he was there.

Kate heaved a deep sigh of embarrassment and then looked out the window again. "Fine, I'll stay sober." As she said it, she licked her lips as if she could still taste the last of the Cognac on them.

"I need to call the airlines…and Wilson." As he got up he walked over and grabbed the Cognac, taking it with him. "I know you have more up here. I'm going to trust you not to drink it." House started to leave, but then he looked around and realized there wasn't a photo around of Keith or Maxie on the desk and there wasn't a single one downstairs either. It was another anomaly.

She held on tight to the rail and made her way down the stairs as carefully as she could. Drinking this early wasn't unheard of, but she usually stayed in her room when she did. She looked out into the great room where he stood, leaning on his cane staring up at her. Blue eyes, they were Keith's eyes staring up at her, judging her, watching her. It was too much. She collapsed on the stairs and started to cry, the sobs coming in waves.

House mentally rolled his eyes and physically shook his head. _Now what? _"I knew you'd miss your booze, I just didn't know it would be so soon."

She wiped the tears away and shook her head, thinking of a lie. "I was just thinking about Daniel. I'm so happy that he's going to get a chance." After a brief respite, she made her way down the rest of the stairs. Grabbing a jacket and gloves, she went disappeared out the back door.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Saturday Morning Chores**

House hobbled to the back door and looked out the window. The wind had whipped up the snow and he had a hard time finding her. He caught a glimpse of her blue jacket as she disappeared around the corner. _What the hell was she doing?_ Frustrated that he couldn't see her anymore, he ran back over, pulled on his jacket and started out the back and was about to step off the porch when she reappeared carrying a large snow shovel. She kept her head down to keep the wind from striking her face. Relieved, House slipped back inside and looked out the front window just in time to see her walk by. She went straight to the SUV and started digging out in front of it.

He grabbed a hat and started running out the door yelling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" But she couldn't hear him over the wind. Running up behind, he bent over just as she came back with her elbow to shovel the snow. It landed perfectly, causing him to see a bright light, feel a thud and then there was nothing.

When her elbow caught his chin, she whipped around. Unsteady on her feet, she managed to slap him upside the head with the shovel. They both fell back, House unconscious, Kate in shock.

"Oh, crap!" She cried out. Crawling over, she looked for blood but there wasn't any. "Greg? Greg?" She tried to slap his face a little in an effort to wake him up. He moaned, but didn't open his eyes. "Greg, please, don't do this. You have to wake up. I can't kill another member of this family. Please wake up."

He could hear her as if she were talking through cotton balls. "I'm not dead yet."

Mouth open, she shrieked with delight. "Oh, God, oh, God! You're okay."

"If having a splitting headache, and the operative word there would be _splitting_, is okay, then yes, I'll live."

"What were you doing?" She demanded as she reached over and touched the side of his head where there was a goose-egg popping up.

"I wanted to know what you were doing? It's still snowing…why start digging until it stops?"

"Because I needed something to do…" She sat back down and looked at her lap. "Something besides drinking."

"Wow, that bad?"

"It's your eyes." She said it with a sorrow that came from deep inside of her.

"What do you mean?"

Tears started to well, but she looked up and took a deep breath. "You have his eyes."

"Ah, I see. Yeah, people always remarked about our eyes."

She smiled through the tears that had won out. "They're beautiful."

"Yeah, I know. It's a part of my charm."

She smiled. "His too."

"Look, I'm freezing my butt off out here and I need something for my head. Can we go back inside?"

"Of course."

Inside, Kate rummaged around and produced both Excedrin and Ibuprofen. House took the Excedrin, ibuprofen was rougher on livers and his had been kicked around by the Vicodin abuse. She handed him some ice water and then stoked the fire before grabbing her gloves and hat.

"I have to go feed the animals."

House waited inside, but after half an hour, he was antsy and decided to join her. Once out in the barn, he found her mucking the horses' stalls. Without making a sound, he stood and watched her. He'd never seen someone so industrious and independent. She was a female _Jeremiah Johnson_, living alone in her log cabin.

When she turned to muck in the south corner, she saw him. "I thought your head was hurting?"

"It's better. I was bored."

"Do you want to help?"

He squinted his eyes and moaned, "Head still hurts. I'll just sit and watch."

"There's no booze out here if that's what you're worried about."

He hadn't even thought about it, but it certainly made a good excuse for him to hover. "Are you sure? Hmmm. Well, maybe I'll just keep you company until you're done."

"If you don't start moving, you're going to freeze your ass off."

She had a point; he was already starting to feel the cold. "What needs to be done?"

"Can you milk a cow?"

He started laughing. "Not exactly something that they taught in med school."

"It's easy and with your long fingers it will go fast. Come on, I'll show you."

She walked over and grabbed a clean pail out of the sink and then took him through the barn to a stall that held a cow and her calf. Leading the cow out of the stall she explained. "You want room to move if she decides to kick. She doesn't do it often, but when she does, you have to jump back."

House's eyes grew wide. "Perhaps you should milk the cow; I can do something else."

"Come on, Martha won't kick. I was just joking. I just bring her out here because it's not so claustrophobic."

He started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"I knew a cow named Martha, she used to work for me."

Kate raised an eyebrow and frowned. Pointing to the stool, she motioned for House to take it. House sat down next to the Brown Swiss cow whose head was turned and looking at him with one serious brown eye. House tried to appear steely, establish dominance, but the cow swished her tail and hit him in the face, causing him to lose whatever authority he might have had.

"Bitch." He mumbled.

Kate started to giggle. "Sorry, she has a habit of doing that when she's pissed. You're going to have to scoot closer, put your shoulder right up against the barrel of her chest so that you can reach under.

She could see the distaste in his face, but decided that if he wanted to follow her around, then he should be useful. Squatting down, she put her hand underneath and showed him the proper position of his fingers. "Just pinch slightly at the top and pull down like this." With her forefingers and thumb, she wrapped them around the top of the teat and started to pull down. The teat filled with milk and squirted into the pail. "You try it."

Normally, House would have pretended to be all thumbs to get out of doing it, but he was curious as to whether he could master it so he mimicked her movements and was pleased to find that the teat he had pulled squirted forcibly into the pail.

"Good job." She said. "I'll go back to mucking. Let me know when you think her udder is empty."

"Whoa! You're leaving me alone with her?" House moaned just as Martha turned and gave him the evil eye again.

"The whole point is that if you help we can get done and get out of the cold, right?"

House sighed and gave a nod to dismiss her. Smiling to herself, Kate walked back and completed her chore just as House was finishing the milking.

"But, what about her calf? I've got all her milk in here."

"Her calf suckled before we got here. By the time its hungry again, she'll have milk. Don't worry. Wow, that's well over a gallon. Perhaps we should use it to bake something."

"Can we go inside now? I'm cold."

"Sure."

Kate carried the pail of milk while House walked next to her, a little unsteady because of the uneven surface below the snow. Stumbling, he cussed under his breath, but she neither offered assistance nor sympathy, but kept going. House liked that.

Once inside the house, Kate ran the milk through a cheesecloth and into a pitcher. "It's unpasteurized, but perfectly safe. However, you might have loose stools because it contains more natural bacteria. Obviously, cooking with it will kill the bacteria, but if you drink it raw, you'll probably notice a difference for a few days."

"Thanks, I think I'll avoid milk and cookies for now."

"Your loss, it's really great. The butterfat is about four percent."

"Just what I need, more butterfat to caudle my arteries."

"I'm going to leave some out so that I can separate the milk from the cream and then we can make Tres Leches Cake. Sound good?"

As a child, House used to have Tres Leches cake when the Houses's housekeeper, Alma Melendez, would make it. He loved the sweet cake with the three yummy layers. "Yeah, sounds good."

"Do you cook?" She asked.

"Yes."

"I mean, do you do more than just open a can and throw it in the microwave?"

He pulled his head back and frowned. "You doubt me?"

"No, but for some reason I don't see you doing anything unless it's absolutely required; you get others to do it for you. I bet you milk that leg of yours for all it's worth."

"Yeah, it's not the only leg I milk."

Grimmacing, she asked, "Are you always that crude?"

"And Keith wasn't?"

He'd hit the mark; Keith could be crude too. She stopped and shrugged. "I guess he had his rough edges, but after Maxie was born he mellowed a lot."

"_Keith?" _ House had a hard time visualizing a mellow Keith. The two of them were so similar, both sharing the same sense of humor, outlook on life and ability to manipulate the world around them; he couldn't envision his buddy—his brother—softening.

"Yes, Keith."

"How long were you two married before you managed to collect on his life insurance?"

The blood drained from her face. It took a few moments, but she finally managed to whisper, "I can't do this. I need a drink."

"Jesus, it's been two years since the accident. You'd think that you'd have toughened up."

"I killed my family, Greg, you don't just get over that." She ran to the liquor cabinet and started to grab a bottle, any bottle out of it.

He walked over and slapped the bottle out of her hand with his cane. It splintered against the leg of a chair, a piece flying back into her arm. "You're not going to drink while I'm here. Period."

The blood was dripping from her forearm as she picked the piece of glass out of her skin. House felt a tinge of guilt, but not enough to apologize. Rather than take care of herself, she started to pick up the broken glass from the floor. The blood mixed with the alcohol, causing the floor to turn a strange brown. House brought over a dishtowel for her to place over the wound, but she used it to mop up the floor instead.

"Look, you need to dress the wound or you're just going to keep dripping."

"I need to clean this up."

"You do a lot of cleaning. This house looks like a model, like no one lives here." It didn't take a rocket scientist for him to figure it out. Cleaning was her way of taking control of her private life. She was the head of her department and always in control at work, but outside of work she felt out of control. No family, no friends, no life…just cleaning and doing chores.

There was no response, but she did walk across to the bathroom where she pulled out a first aid kit. Sitting at the breakfast bar, she tried to bandage herself, but it was too awkward. House walked over and sat next to her, grabbing her arm and inspecting the wound.

"There's still some glass in there." Standing up he walked to his backpack and pulled out his reading glasses. Back at the bar, he pulled out a pair of tweezers from the first aid box and pulled a small sliver of glass from the wound. Mopping up the fresh blood, he sanitized the wound before applying the dressing.

With the reading glasses on, she thought he looked handsome, studious, more in line with the man her husband had described. The brain. Keith had a brain, one that could see around corners and solve problems that many said were insolvable. But once, when Keith had been drinking and Kate had been singing his praises, he stopped and shook his head. "You want to talk brains? You should see my friend, Greg. I know I'm smart, I've always scored high on all those tests they give you in school, but Greg was off the charts."

Kate started to put the unused bandages and wipes back into the first aid kit. "Keith thought you were smart."

House took his glasses off and looked at her. "Where did that come from?"

"Your glasses make you look smart."

"I am smart, even without my glasses." He watched her as she went back to finish cleaning the floor. "No booze, not while I'm here."

"Then leave."

"Yeah, like that's going to happen with four foot drifts covering the road."

"Then don't talk about the accident."

He thought about it. All he wanted to do was talk about the accident, find out how she managed to kill them, but it could wait. "I can't promise that I won't, but I'll try to behave."

"I find that hard to believe." She didn't like him. But then, she had hated Keith when they first met. Although Keith could be rude and crude, he never went for the jugular, at least not without reason. House seemed to relish poking at open wounds.

"It's ten-thirty, what shall we do?" he asked.

"I have to do laundry. If you'll give me your dirty things, I'll throw them in with mine."

"Laundry? More cleaning."

"Honestly. I really do have a large pile ready to wash."

The look on her face told him she was telling the truth. He wandered back to his room and pulled out his dirty t-shirt, shirt, socks and boxers, throwing them at her one at a time. As she carried the pile to the utility room just off the mud room, she could smell the t-shirt. It had been a long time since she had smelled the musk of a man. Greg's was different from Keith's but not unpleasant. It brought back memories of snuggling next to her husband, watching television in bed at the end of their day, laughing at something Jon Stewart said. Not having physical human contact hurt, but it was her self-punishment. She didn't deserve to be touched, to be held, to be comforted. That's why she refused to show any emotion at the funerals. She didn't want comfort, didn't want to give them a reason to hold her, to touch her. It had worked. Her stoic face and straight back had sent out the message she wanted them to hear—stay away. Of course, it didn't help her standing in the community. People wanted to forgive her, but when they saw her at the funerals, so unmoved, so stuck-up, they started to question whether it had really been an accident.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Saturday in The Man Cave**

When Kate came back from the laundry room, House was rummaging through the books on the shelves by the fireplace. "Where's your television? I mean the family television." He was referring to the fact that there wasn't one in the living room.

"Downstairs."

"Downstairs?"

"Yes, in the basement."

"You have a finished basement?"

She nodded.

"Well, grab some snacks and let's go watch a movie or something."

House noticed that she suddenly bristled up.

"You go on downstairs; I have things to do up here."

"Like what?"

"I have to check with the hospital. See how Daniel is doing."

"I'll wait."

Frustrated, she could tell he wasn't going to let her get away with it. "Okay, the truth is that I g down there, but I don't like spending time down there."

Now House was curious. What was downstairs?

"Afraid of the dark?"

"Something like that."

"I'll be with you."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sweat beads popped up on her forehead. She looked as if she was a deer about to bolt.

"Honestly, I'll be with you. Come on, let's go down and watch some television…just for a little while, until it stops snowing."

"I'd prefer not to."

"I tell you what. You go with me downstairs and I'll let you have wine with your dinner tonight."

"What about wine with my lunch?"

He snickered. "Okay, wine with your lunch."

She walked over to the refrigerator. "What would you like?"

"I get to drink, so I'll be taking a bottle downstairs."

"You won't have to take alcohol with you…there's a bar down there."

She grabbed a diet coke and they walked to a large arched door next to the kitchen. Flipping a switch next to the door, she took a deep breath and then opened the door. As they descended, he could see she was shaking, her arms barely able to grab onto the banister. The stairs were a gorgeous pine that turned down at a small landing into an extremely large fitted basement with several areas separated by shelving. One area centered around a large slate fireplace. Above it was a 52 inch LED television that faced out to a large black leather sectional couch and overstuffed recliner. Against the east wall was a full kitchen with a small apartment sized stove, refrigerator and dishwasher, all in stainless steel. Against the opposite wall was a full bar with six bar stools. Behind the large sectional was an area devoid of anything except a small patch of wall painted a princess pink. Off the main room was a storage area, a laundry room, a large bathroom and a well-furnished bedroom.

The one thing he noticed was that the basement had been sanitized. There were no photos, no trophies, no signs that anyone had ever really occupied the space. He assumed that the pink wall behind the couch had been a play area for their daughter, but you wouldn't know it. All toys, kid's furniture and signs of a toddler had been excised.

She turned the television on and gingerly sat on the sofa, her body so straight and rigid that House thought one flick and she'd shatter. Looking through the DVDs, he found one, _Little Miss Sunshine,_ and put it on. When the movie started, she visibly relaxed when she saw the title.

"You like this movie?" He asked.

She smiled. "It was one of our favorites."

"Yeah, I love the end where the kid performs."

Grinning, Kate nodded in acknowledgment.

"This basement really spooks you, doesn't it?"

"It has a lot of memories."

"Yeah, this is where you guys really lived, wasn't it?"

"We spent a lot of time down here."

"You let Keith get the place dirty?"

She smiled. "Yes, we were both pigs down here."

"And upstairs? Was that just for show?"

She put her feet up on the large leather ottoman. "No, it was just that he liked it down here and since I wanted to spend time with him…well there was no one upstairs to make a mess."

House walked over to the bar and found the ice maker, put ice in a tumbler and then poured himself a whiskey. Walking over to the sofa, he sat a foot away from her. He could tell it made her uneasy, but he did it just for that effect. Picking up the remote, he paused the movie.

"If you want to go upstairs, we can. There's a television in the guest room if you don't mind sitting on the bed with me…or in the bed with me."

"Thanks, but it's okay."

They watched the movie; House letting her relax a little, hoping she'd drop her guard. After the movie she invited him upstairs.

"I'll make us lunch. Would you like homemade macaroni and cheese? I find it tastes good on a cold day like today."

"Sure, let's go with macaroni and cheese."

"I put a little sausage in it, okay?"

"Sounds good."

House watched as she boiled the macaroni, fried up hot Italian sausage, grated three types of cheese, added sun-dried tomatoes and then added butter and cream. Over the stove she tasted the mixed concoction and, after adding some spices, filled several small casserole dishes and put them in the oven.

"Twenty minutes." She said. "In the meantime, I'm going to start the Tres Leches." She pulled out bowls, flower, sugar and other ingredients and went to work.

"You like to cook, don't you?"

Stopping in the middle of folding in the eggs, she looked at him and gave him a girly grin. "I guess I do. It calms me down."

"Then why aren't you fatter?"

"Because I haven't really cooked anything for months."

"More like two years, right?"

She looked down at the counter. "I guess."

The cake in the oven, she pulled out the macaroni and cheese, putting the little casseroles on plates. House poured them both a glass of wine.

Motioning through the French doors she said, "Follow me."

They walked out into a sun room which seemed to be suspended above the forest in the back. Snow covered everything, it was a landscape sculpted out of confectionary sugar. Sitting at the small, black wrought iron bistro table, House looked out over pine trees and was surprised by how moved he was. The view was stunning.

"I love it out here." She said wistfully.

"It's beautiful."

The way he said it made her look over at him. He was pensive, contemplative, as if this place was starting to get to him the way it had gotten to Keith and to her.

"We bought the land and built the house a year after we were married. We designed it together, but Keith built it…well, his construction company did. We moved in and a month later I found out I was pregnant with Maxie."

"It has to be worth a fortune."

"Not as much as you think because of the isolated location, but at least two million, probably more."

"You guys were rich, huh?"

"I don't know if you'd use the word 'rich', but we were happy."

"How did you meet? Steve said you were with a friend and met in a bar."

She shook her head and smiled to herself. "No, Keith used to say that because he knew I was embarrassed by how we met. The truth was that I was in Portland for a conference and on my way to meet my friends for drinks. Keith was in the elevator, having just finished dinner with some new clients. He took one look at me and started laughing. Of course, I was a little miffed that a stranger was laughing at me and so I turned my back at him. He hit the button, stopping the elevator between floors, then he turned to face me and, with his hands outstretched, assured me that I was his reward for a lousy day and that he was going to show me the true Portland. I told him that I didn't need to see the true Portland, especially with a strange man that had me trapped in an elevator. He told me that I was a doctor, here for a conference, I wasn't married and I didn't have a boyfriend. Of course my mouth dropped. Then he told me that he had a thing for intelligent, beautiful women with nice breasts."

"A classic line." House said, tongue in cheek.

"Yeah, I'm sure it works every time."

"I was pushing buttons trying like hell to get out of there and he kept blocking the one button I needed to push begging me, 'Just one drink, upstairs and then you can go. I promise.'"

"So you agreed just to get out of the elevator, but I assumed you turned him in?"

She nodded. "As soon as I jumped out at the top of the building where the restaurant and bar were, I found security and told them all about the crazy man who just stood smiling and waving at me about eight feet away. The security guard assured me, 'Lady, that's Keith Huntington, he does that at least once a week. He's harmless, have a drink with him, if you do, you'll have the best time of your life.'

I was pissed, really pissed so I refused to play along and went on to meet my friends. The next night, he does the same thing-ambushed me and several other strangers in the elevator! I had already had a few drinks and was quite embarrassed so I gave in, had a drink with him and disliked him from the very start. But he told me he loved me and wanted to have babies with me. My last day in Portland, he arranged a Mariachi band outside the convention center with a banner asking me to marry him. They followed me all over the city all day long. At the end of the day and after hearing, "Una Paloma Blanca" twenty times, I begged him to call them off. He said he would if I would spend my last night with him…not sex, just talk. We did and when I left, he was waving to me from the airport window. I felt like I was leaving a part of me behind. He was an arrogant bastard, but underneath was this lovely human, hidden underneath all this sarcasm. I married him two months later."

"He must have been in his late forties."

"Forty-seven. It didn't seem to matter; he acted like a teenager most of the time."

That sounded familiar. "So, was he still feeling the love when you had the accident?"

Her jaw clenched. "Yes, he was still feeling the love."

"You?" He said it with an air of suspicion.

Her hands started flying at him. The bistro table fell over, the macaroni and cheese casseroles tossing their contents out onto the floor, the wine goblets breaking and spilling the cabernet across the tiled floor. Her fingernails started digging into his flesh.

House grabbed and pinned her back down in her chair. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I've had enough of your innuendos! I didn't want my family to die!"

Her eyes were wild with hate and anger as she sat back trying to contain herself. House bent down and picked up the dishes and then righted the table. "I'm going to get something to clean this up with; you stay here and get a grip."

House disappeared and returned with one wet and one dry towel, a small trashcan, a bottle of wine and two clean glasses. After a few minutes of watching House pick up the glass, Kate got on her knees and helped him.

"You're going to have to buy some new china when I leave."

Kate let out a short laugh. "I've broken more in one day than I have in two years."

The mess cleared, House poured a glass of cabernet and handed it to Kate who sat on the floor approximately two feet from him, her back against a rattan couch. "Here. Now tell me about the accident."

There was a look in her eye. She was tired, not physically, but emotionally, and her eyes pled with him to be gentle.

"Come on; tell me how my brother died."

The doorbell rang. They both looked at each other, a big grin passing over Kate's mouth. They both knew she'd been spared—for now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Saturday Afternoon**

Putting down the wine, she ran through the Great Room throwing open the huge pine door. Kate was both surprised and pleased to see Steve when she opened the door.

"Steven? How did you…"

"Route 26 is cleared now; I just had to get Jack off his butt and give him $20 to plow back to your place."

The Hansons were the first house off of Route 26 and they frequently used their tractor and snow plow attachment to help out their neighbors, for a fee, but they only charged for fuel for the tractor.

"He used his tractor-plow to get back here?" Kate stepped aside to let a very cold looking Steve inside.

"Only the last section of road; the County snow plow is about a quarter mile from here. They had to stop though because they needed fuel. They said that they'll be able to get to you guys tomorrow."

House looked bewildered. "But it's still snowing."

"It's supposed to stop in a few hours and start up again tomorrow afternoon."

Kate turned to Greg, "If the County is that close, I can always plow the rest of the way to get us out."

"You have a plow?" House asked.

"It attaches to the front of Keith's SUV. Steve, why are you here?"

"I came to get Greg; I heard he's a match."

"Yes, he is."

Steve continued, "They said that Daniel still looks good. I thought that we could get a head start. Maybe start giving Greg the exams and shots that he needs."

House looked unconvinced. "But, what if he's not in remission?"

"Then you'd have to go through the tests again when he is." Kate said.

"What needs to be done?" House asked.

"Five days prior to transplant, you'll receive one to two daily injections of granulocyte colony stimulating factor or G-CSF, which stimulates recruitment of bone marrow stem cells into the circulating blood. You might not feel that good. Typical side effects are headaches and bone pain, which are usually relieved with Tylenol or ibuprofen. But, I have to admit, I'm worried about your thigh pain being exacerbated by the G-CSF drugs."

"Then what?"

"You'll be admitted as an outpatient on the morning of the fifth day to the Leukapheresis Unit of the Oncology wing at the hospital. Special catheters are placed under local anesthesia in the veins in each arm. This will be done in the operating room using general anesthesia. The catheters are necessary in order to carry blood to the apheresis machine, where the stem cells are collected, and to return the residual blood back to you. We collect the stems cells and then, if all is well, you can go home to recuperate."

"Recuperate?"

"I'm not going to lie; you're going to feel like crap for three to five days."

"Great. I don't mean to be a buzz kill, but let's wait one more day. If he's still well tomorrow, I'll go down the mountain."

There was a brief flash of disappointment that crossed Steven's face, but he recovered quickly, nodding his head in agreement. Looking up, he smelled the air. "I smell baking."

"Oh! God, yes, the Tres Leches." Kate began to run for the oven.

"Yeah, I smell something sweet, but what I think I'm smelling is your famous macaroni and cheese, right?"

"I made some for Greg, but we had an accident." She looked at Greg, her face full of guilt for having tossed the casseroles in her fury. "I still have two left in the oven, want one?"

"I'd love it." Steve answered with glee.

Kate took the remaining two out of the warming oven and put them on plates, pushing them across the breakfast bar to Steven and House with forks. "Anything to drink?"

Steve perked up. "Beer?"

"Sorry." Kate didn't like beer so she no longer kept any around. "What about soda, milk, wine, spirits?"

"Wine sounds good."

"I have a cabernet opened?"

"Great."

Kate disappeared into the sun room, grabbed the two towels, the bottle of wine and House's glass. Out in the kitchen she poured Steve a drink. The two men finally settled down to eat their meal.

"You're in for a treat, Greg."

Kate disappeared and brought back her wine. Standing behind the breakfast bar she watched them tuck into the casseroles. House gave her a strange look.

"Where's your lunch?" He asked.

She held up her glass of wine. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head in disapproval.

"Steve, did you know Kate's a lush?"

Steve swallowed hard and looked up, unsure of what to do or say.

House continued, "Yeah, she's skin and bones because she drinks her meals. I suspect her liver is taking a lot of abuse."

"Fuck you, Greg." Kate growled.

Steve sat up and looked at the two of them. "Maybe you should come and stay with us, Greg. It would make it easier to get back and forth from the hospital."

"What? Don't you want to see your sister-in-law get off the sauce?"

"Look, Greg, what Kate does on her own time is none of my business. She's always sober at work."

Kate hung her head.

"You hear that Kate? As long as you're sober enough to treat Daniel, no one cares that you're killing yourself."

"That's not fair, Greg." Steve said.

House took several bites and shrugged.

Kate looked around. "I'm going upstairs to take a shower. I'm sure you two can entertain each other."

Kate disappeared up the stairs, followed by the sound of the bedroom door closing.

House turned to Steven. "Really, she's wasting away."

Steve remained silent.

It dawned on House. "You really don't care as long as she takes care of Daniel."

"Maybe there's some truth to that, but I have tried." Steve poured himself another glass of wine and then poured one for House. "It was hell after the accident. I was a basket case and the last thing I wanted to do was be around the woman who had killed two people I loved, but I wanted Keith to have a proper funeral so I came up to see her. She was cleaning, not a tear in her eye. I asked if I could help, but she said she didn't need any help. She handed me a manila folder marked, 'Funerals.' Inside was everything, the mortuary, the burial plots, the flowers, the caterer, the priest. I mean everything was planned as if she had seen it all coming. At the funeral, she just stood like a tank. No tears, no signs that she had lost anyone. She walked around as if she was above it all. You already know I blew up at the funeral. My wife wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, Daniel begged me to go see her. He was sure it was all an act, but I wasn't so sure. A week later I came up here to pick up a tool that I had leant to Keith. It's a good thing I arrived when I did. Both their cars were in the garage so I knew she was home, but she didn't answer the door. I knew where they kept the spare key so I unlocked the door and walked inside. The house was sparkling clean, but on the counter was an unlocked document safe with the family trust papers, deeds and all the documents you need to handle someone's estate. And there were three letters-one to me, one to Daniel and one to the doctor who works under her."

"What did they say?"

"The one to me was a suicide note. She apologized for the accident and asked me to take care of the animals. She told me to cremate her because the church wouldn't let her be buried with Keith and Maxie because she committed suicide. What got me is that she said something to the effect that she knew she wouldn't be going to heaven because she was taking her own life, but that she was glad-she didn't deserve to be with her husband and daughter, she deserved to be in hell."

"She believes in God and the Devil?" House asked with a cynical smirk.

"Catholic." Steve took in a deep breath. "I found her upstairs lying in the middle of her carefully made bed. I thought she was dead. She was so still, her lips were blue and I could see from the empty bottles that she had taken a lot of sleeping pills and Oxycontin. I didn't think she could survive it. But I called 911 anyways and felt for a pulse, it was very faint so they had me try CPR until they got here. Obviously, they were able to bring her back. She was so upset, screaming at the top of her lungs to let her die, but they finally tied her down and after all the drugs were out of her system, they gave her a sedative. She spent two months in the psychiatric facility in Portland."

"She tried to take her life even though she believed she wouldn't be with Keith and Maxie? Wow, she really does believe she should be punished."

"I guess. We tried to reach out to her. Well, not so much me, but Daniel and Ann did. She refused all invitations and even when we showed up at her house, she'd make excuses and ask us to leave. We all got the hint. I was sure that she'd do it again, but then Daniel got sick and she seemed to have something to live for…to take care of him. She didn't used to be like this. She used to be the life of the party. Between her and Keith, they always livened up a room. She's a zombie now. If you'd prefer to stay with us, we can make room. I can ask Ann's family to go home, hell they've been here long enough…"

"No, I like it up here, they have a man cave."

Steve nodded. "Ah, the basement. Yeah, what I'd give for that man cave."

House stood up and walked over to the couch and sat down in front of the fireplace. _She's more screwed up than I thought. _

"Well, I better get down the hill before the roads turn to ice."

"Coward."

"Yeah, you and Keith were much better at handling confrontation than me. The reality is that I don't know how to help her and frankly, if it weren't for Daniel, I'm not sure I would." Steve swiveled around on the stool to leave and noticed Kate standing on the stairs looking at him. Cheeks bright red, a flustered Steve moaned, "Kate, I'm sorry…I just mean—"

"I'd feel the same way too, Steve. You haven't said anything I didn't already know. I think the sad thing is that we all used to be so close. I'm sorry I took that away from you."

House watched the petite woman, her blue grey eyes void of emotion, as she stood there, her shoulders back, head high. She was gorgeous, her blond hair was wet and combed back, her breasts round and pert under the thin t-shirt and thin bra, her long legs tucked into her dark blue jeans. He admired her. So many women would have been screaming, angry at what she had just heard, but she truly understood why Steve had said what he did and she didn't seem to hold it against him.

"Hopefully, I'll see you both tomorrow at the hospital. I think I better get going." Steve said, head down.

"How are you getting back to Route 26?" Kate asked.

"I drove behind Hanson's tractor on the way down. I'm only parked a hundred yards down the road. If I get going now, I can make it out." He hurried on his jacket and started to leave. Looking back he decided to throw out one last offer. "Greg, you could go down with me now, I could make sure you get to the hospital tomorrow."

"No, I'll stay. Someone has to look after her liver."

Steve smiled politely and took off.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Saturday Late Afternoon**

"I hope he gets stuck and has to spend the night in his car." House sneered.

"Greg, that's mean."

"Yeah, well he wasn't very nice to you."

"He has reason to be. I took his brother away."

"Look, enough of the 'I killed my husband and daughter'; tell me something about you before—" He held up his finger in quotes, "the accident"."

"Like what?" She walked over and took a seat across from him.

"Where were you raised?"

"California, Cuyamaca, California."

"Queeea-what?"

"It's Kumayaay Indian—Kwee-a-mac-a. It's a small town in the mountains in San Diego County."

"So you were raised in the mountains?"

"Yep, my parents were from the east coast but they moved out to California a few years before I was born. What about you?"

"All over. I spent two years in Oceanside."

"Marine brat?"

He smiled, "What gave it away? Camp Pendleton?"

"Anyone who only lives two years in Oceanside is associated with Camp Pendleton. Did you like moving around?"

"No. Why didn't you go back to Cuyamaca after you-know-what?"

"Daniel. Plus, there's nothing for me there, this is my home now. My parents are dead; my sister lives in Puerto Rico."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-nine. You?"

"Fifty-one."

"You look older than Keith."

"Yeah, well try being addicted to Vicodin for eight years."

"Your leg?"

He nodded.

"I caught a glimpse of the scar. What happened?"

"Infarction."

"They must not have caught it in time."

"Bingo."

"Sorry. Are you married?"

"No. I lived with a woman for five years…that's as close as I got to marriage."

"Children?"

"None that will claim me." He got a smile out of her with that. "So Keith was a good father?"

"Everyone was shocked. No one expected him to be able to curtail his sarcasm, but he did around Maxie. I think Maxie brought out the best in him although he used to say that I did."

"What did you guys do for fun?"

"Besides being home bodies, we traveled to Europe, went camping, fishing, white water rafting…you know, we kept active. When Maxie came we took a trip to Legoland a month before… " Her breath caught and she had to look up to keep the tears from falling.

"Hey," he reached over and touched her hand. "It's nice that she had that."

Kate looked at his hand on hers and marveled at the warmth it generated. She wanted to grab it, hold it, feel another human's touch.

House followed her gaze and realized that she hadn't pulled her hand away. He slowly withdrew his, only because it would seem awkward if he didn't. Still unsure why he had felt a desire to give her comfort, he decided that it was a good ploy to get her to talk.

"Greg, you said something about being addicted to Vicodin?"

"Yeah, I knew I was, but I figured that I was above it, could keep it in line. I started hallucinating, eventually I hallucinated that my boss was my girlfriend…before she actually became my girlfriend. I made a spectacle in front of everyone, embarrassed her, embarrassed myself. It was quite spectacular. I ended up in the loony bin, like you."

Her eyes flashed and then she nodded. "Steve told you."

"Yeah, my brother said you tried to end it all. Quite tidy of you to provide all the necessary documents."

She snickered, "I'm an organized nutter."

"I was just the opposite; my friend had to clean up my mess."

"When did this happen?'

"Two years ago."

She cleared her throat. "Has it gotten any better?"

"What?"

"Whatever drove you to be an addict."

"My leg drove me to be an addict."

"I don't really believe that."

"It hurts like hell…all the time."

His raised voice made her stiffen. "I'm sure it does, but you're a doctor, you know that there are alternative treatments, assistance, medications, therapies. You know my dirty secrets, why are you so afraid to tell me yours?"

"You don't know I have any."

"Fine." She stood up and started to walk away.

"Oh, fine."

She turned around. "What?"

"Ever since my infarction I've been miserable. It wasn't like I was little Miss Sunshine to begin with. My team calls me a misogynist, narcissist and manipulative bastard and that's when they're feeling generous. I was miserable for a long time and then I fell in love."

She smiled. "You fell in love?"

"With my boss."

"So you do have a girlfriend?"

"No, I screwed that up too."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it ended like most of the good things in my life….in flames. I just couldn't be the man she needed."

"That's a shame."

House took a drink to avoid looking at the pity he knew was reflected in her eyes.

"Keith always said you seemed angry. Did that have anything to do with your father and the fact that Michael was your real dad?"

"Maybe. My Dad must have known Mom fooled around on him, that I wasn't his kid. He was never the father I needed. But, to be fair, I was never the kid he wanted me to be. We were oil and water. But, even though I knew he wasn't my biological father, I wanted him to acknowledge me."

"What do you mean?"

"Acknowledge that I was enough. That even though I wasn't his biological son, I was enough; he didn't need me to be the perfect little House, being Greg was enough." House squirmed a little and felt his voice crack, "I always felt that if a real, obedient little House had come along, he would have gladly been done with me."

"Greg, how did you know he wasn't your real Dad?"

"Timing. I did the math. He was out to sea when I was conceived. When he died I did a DNA test to confirm."

"So you were surprised that Michael was your father?"

"I thought it was someone else, but looking back, it makes sense. Michael had been transferred to Guam, but when he arrived my father's squad was in Okinawa on a training exercise. I was conceived before Keith's mom arrived on Guam. His Mom couldn't join them until they were assigned housing because she was pregnant. My Mom conceived me in that window. I was born seven months after Keith. "

"You know, Michael didn't seem to be the type to cheat."

"Neither did my Mom. She's pretty much the definition of the 50's housewife."

"So you did love one parent?"

"My Mom?"

She nodded.

"Yeah."

"Goes to show you that there really is unconditional love in this world."

"How does me loving my Mom prove that?"

"It doesn't. Your Mom loving you proves it. Between you and Keith, your mothers had to have unconditional love to still put up with your winning ways. And I say that with my tongue stuck deep in the side of my cheek."

He let loose the briefest of smiles. "Mothers are hardwired to love their kids."

"When they're young and helpless. Strangely, they love them even when they're murderers."

House rolled his eyes. "Did you have unconditional love for Keith?"

"No. If he had cheated on me or hurt Maxie, I would have probably stopped loving him or at least I would have left him."

House thought for a second. She didn't take the safe moral stand and insist she'd love him no matter what. He liked that. "Fair enough."

It seemed like only a few hours, but they talked until six and would have talked more but House was starving. "Any of that cake ready?"

"I just need to finish the topping. Oh my God! It's already six! Where did the time go?" She jumped up and raced to the kitchen. "I have some lasagna that I froze, would you like that? Or I could defrost some chicken—"

"Lasagna is fine."

He watched her from the sofa rummaging around in the freezer and then the oven. She started the mixer and began beating ingredients for the cake's topping. Now he wished he hadn't mentioned food, he wanted her to come back and talk to him. The conversation had been more stimulating than he had expected, certainly more interesting that his conversations with Cuddy. It got a little heated over her belief in Catholicism, but she didn't seem to take it personally, as if she'd argued the issued before, probably with Keith. It occurred to him that he was softening towards her and that bothered him. But his justification was that it didn't mean he was forgiving her for what she did, it just meant that he was beginning to understand what Keith had seen in her. Underneath the damaged veneer was a fascinating woman who had achieved a lot in her life.

Boredom took over so he moved closer to the kitchen, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. She was standing with her back turned to him, but she had a hand on her abdomen.

"Something wrong? Cramps?"

"No, I just finished my period. I'm embarrassed but it feels like gas."

"Alcohol does that."

She sighed. "Yes, I know."

"Well, let her rip."

She laughed. "That's okay, I think it's gone."

"Ah, silent but deadly."

Shaking her head, he delighted in the fact that she had turned a bright red. "Greg, I can assure you that there's no toxic gases hanging around me right now."

"You're blushing. It's kind of sweet."

She giggled like a school girl. "I'll make a salad to go with the lasagna. Where would you like to eat?"

"By the fire. It's more romantic that way."

She knew he was being facetious, but she blushed anyway at the thought of being romantic. The idea of romance with any man hadn't passed through her mind in years.

"You're blushing again?"

"It was that I just realized that you're a single man. I didn't think about that when I told everyone you could stay with me."

"So maybe they're all thinking we're getting our groove on?"

"Who knows?"

They ate dinner, talking about the trouble House and Keith had caused when they were teens living on base. Kate actually let out with a belly laugh when he told her about the time they let a raccoon lose in the Commandant's house. The raccoon had crapped in the middle of the Commandant's desk. No one could prove it was them, but it was highly suspected. House and Keith weren't formally punished by the base command, but their parents made them do hard labor in the Commandant's Peace Garden where they built a four foot high wall and planted dozens of trees during spring break when their friends had all gone to Disneyland.

When she finally gained control over her laughing she looked uncomfortable.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I just haven't laughed like that in a long time. It doesn't feel right."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, so now laughing is dishonoring the memory of your dead loved ones?"

She looked at her fingers as they fiddled with a button on her shirt.

"Okay, I give up. Apparently Keith and Maxie's memory can only be honored by self-flagellation. I bet Keith would be into that."

"You don't understand. I feel guilty that I can laugh and they can't."

"Oh, boo hoo. It is the nature of life that people die and those around them go on. Was Keith such a bastard that he would expect you to sacrifice the remainder of your life for one mistake? Okay, one colossal mistake. Still, that's a hell of a lot to ask, especially since it was him drinking and expecting you to be his chauffeur that put you on the road that night."

"Who told you that?" She held up a hand and frowned. "I know, Steve."

"You don't like Steve do you?"

Her voice softened, "Actually, I do. We used to do a lot with their family, spent a lot of time with Daniel. Daniel was up here all the time, like a son. Keith used to take him to work in the summer, show him the ropes. But Steve obviously blames me."

"So your life centers around atoning for what you did. You go to work to help others to make up for the two lives you took and you stay home and clean, have no contact with people and drink so that you are deprived of human comfort. It sucks being you."

"It sure does."

"Now I'm depressed. Thank God I'm on antidepressants. Have you tried a few Zolofts to get you through the day? No…wait…don't answer. If you tried them and they worked then you might actually start living again and that wouldn't be making up for what you did."

"Bedtime."

"I'm game."

"No, I mean that I'm going to bed now. You can do whatever you want."

"I thought I'd rummage around in several of those bedrooms upstairs and stir up some dirt."

She cracked a smile as she disappeared up the stairs. "Knock yourself out.

"Crap." He mumbled to himself. He knew that if she wasn't worried about him snooping then the bedrooms were either locked or he'd find nothing.

After watching some television, House climbed the stairs and opened the door to the first bedroom. It was impeccably decorated in browns and turquoise with a queen bed, small ensuite bathroom and furniture from the Mission period. There were no photos, no signs of occupation by anyone other than a robot. The room had a decidedly masculine feel. The only sign that it might have belonged to a little girl was a small _Dora the Explorer_ sticker on the inside of the closet.

_She missed something._ House reached up and pulled the sticker off, it's what she would have done. He admired the courage it must have taken for her to clean out this room, to erase the memory of her daughter, to scrub away any sign of her existence, not so that Kate could heal, but so she could be punished. It was a daily reminder that her baby was never coming back.

He knew what he'd find in the other three rooms but he opened them anyway-three more bedrooms, all with bathrooms, all devoid of human contact. Time for bed.

**Dear Readers, Thanks for reading and MANY THANKS for the reviews. Kim**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Sunday**

"The road's been cleared but we're in for another storm tonight. Let's get you down to the hospital, run the tests and give you the first shot."

House rose up on his elbows and tried to focus on the woman standing above him with a cup of coffee. "You're damn perky today."

That threw her off. "I…I guess I'm excited about Daniel's treatment."

"Don't apologize, on you it looks cute."

"I'm making breakfast. French toast and bacon, okay?"

"Fine, but it will throw my glucose tolerance tests off."

"We don't need one."

A shower and shave later, House was sitting in his boxers and a t-shirt at the breakfast bar pouring Canadian Maple Syrup over two slices of fluffy French toast and three pieces of crispy bacon. He was pleased to see that Kate had actually made herself some too and was sitting next to him eating like there was no tomorrow.

Finished with her plate, she looked up somewhat shocked and grinned, "I should have made more. That really hit the spot."

"It's the best French toast I've ever had."

"Really?"

"Look, don't make me repeat it compliments aren't my forte."

"Okay. Well, I'm going upstairs to brush my teeth and I'll meet you by the door in a few minutes, okay?"

"Yes, der fuhrer." He gave her a Nazi salute and then swiveled around mechanically and goose-stepped as best he could out of the room.

Shaking her head, she went upstairs to get ready.

The road had obviously been cleared, but another foot of snow had fallen on the ground since then. It didn't seem to faze her. She scrapped the windshield and then waited until the window defrosted. As they sat, she turned the radio on to a station playing David Bowie.

"Music, you're in the mood for music?" House asked, incredulity in his voice.

"Is that strange?"

"Just a little."

She put the SUV into fourth gear and took off. It was slow going until they made it to Route 26 where the road had been cleared and sanded only an hour earlier. The road was fairly empty that early on a Sunday morning. Despite the snow, they made it to the hospital in forty minutes.

Swishing into the lobby after trudging through the parking lot, Kate stopped as nurses ran up with files and questions for her. House made his way to the back where Daniel was. Walking in, he found the kid finishing his breakfast.

"Hello."

"Uncle Greg! Come on in. I can't believe you're a match!"

"Apparently." House snatched a piece of bacon off Daniel's plate and sat down to eat it. "I'm scheduled for an EKG in half an hour. And they should be in to take my blood soon."

"Better watch your bacon, your triglyceride levels might shoot through the roof." Daniel quipped.

"Show off."

He gave him a cheeky grin.

Kate walked in with a tray of needles and blood. "This is the last set of bloodwork we'll need. I'll just run a CBC to make sure there are no infections."

House held out his arm like a sheep to the slaughter. The blood work taken, she turned back as she was leaving.

"Greg, I've got a patient who needs a catheterization and immediate chemo. They're going to run your EKG and then we can go. I hope you don't mind finding something to occupy your time, I'll be at least an hour or two."

"Uncle Greg can watch television with me. There's a Smackdown on television this morning, a rerun from last night, but I didn't get to see it."

House grinned, "_Smackdown! Cool!"_

She shook her head. "How lovely for you two. I'll be back."

House returned from his EKG and settled into the chair. Fifteen minutes into the Smackdown, he turned to Daniel. "Are you close with your Aunt?"

Daniel nodded as if he knew what was coming. "Yeah, we're very close."

"You don't blame her for your Uncle's death?"

Daniel looked down and shook his head. "She might have been the cause of the accident, but she wasn't to blame. My Dad won't listen to anyone."

"Listen to what?"

"I tried to tell him. I hear things. I heard the nurses talking about it. Aunt Kate had the flu that day. She went home early really sick, high fever, bad headache, all that crap. Someone at the funeral said that Uncle Keith could have stayed over in Portland, that he was offered a room to stay in by his Operations Manager, but he said no. He called her at two in the morning and expected her to drive an hour down to Portland with Maxie in the back and then an hour up the mountain with a fever. No wonder she fell asleep."

"She could have said no."

"She never said no to Uncle Keith. She was devoted to him…but he could be a real ass to her."

"I thought you were close to your uncle?"

"I was, but that doesn't mean he wasn't an ass sometimes."

House chuckled. The kid had a point. House didn't know how to take this information. It all brought back the night Amber had gotten out of her sick bed to come to his aid at a bar and died as a result. A chill ran down his spine. All his emotions were like scrambled eggs. The anger and hate he had felt for Kate was being replaced by other strange emotions-pity, frustration, fondness. He wished he knew if being loyal to his friend, his brother, was by hating her or helping her?

"So Keith loved her?"

"He might have been an ass sometimes, but he was devoted to her. Before he met her his whole life centered mostly around him and what he wanted. When he started dating her, he changed. He was nicer, more thoughtful, less stubborn. He was even more fun. He played wicked jokes on Aunt Kate. He once had a Tom Brokaw impersonator call her up and tell her that they wanted to film her as part of a day in the life of a small town specialist. She fell for it. She was so excited- went out got her hair cut, her teeth whitened, new dress, you know. When Uncle Keith showed up the next day with his friend holding a camcorder, she almost killed him. Man, she came unglued until he gave her the tickets. He had plane tickets for New York where he had arranged for them to meet Tom Brokaw for lunch. She forgave him. But he was always doing things like that."

"He was in New York City?" House's voice fell off leaving the distinct impression that he was hurt that his brother hadn't come to see him.

"Yeah." Daniel suddenly looked tired. "I sure hope this works."

"The stem cell transplant?"

"Yeah. I've got to live."

"Got to live? I can understand 'want to live', but why the imperative?"

"Aunt Kate. When she tried to off herself we made a deal. I asked her to promise not to do it again. She wouldn't promise that, but she did promise that as long as I was alive she wouldn't pull anything."

"Really? So, if you die you think she'll try again?"

"I don't know, but I'm worried."

"Yeah, no pressure on you. I'd worry about her liver giving out."

"I don't know how to keep her from the booze."

House stared into space and then it became clear. "There's only one way that I can think of."

House waited several hours for Kate to return, falling asleep in the chair for a brief moment only to have Daniel give it the best kick he had in him. House bolted awake giving Daniel the evil eye while also smiling. Daniel laughed at him.

"I'm sorry!" Kate exclaimed as she barged into the room her blond hair back, face flushed. "It didn't go well, but we finally managed to get her stabilized. Are you ready to go?"

House looked at Daniel as if to say 'Who is this lunatic?'

"He's been snoring." Daniel announced.

"Hey, I wasn't snoring, I was commenting on the action…kind of weak for a Smackdown."

"Smackdown ended an hour ago. You missed an old Chapelle episode."

House frowned. "Damn, I like him."

Kate was sweeping her hair back and pinning it up. "Home? Or somewhere else?"

"I want to go to Washington."

Her face fell, and House swore the blood drained from her face.

"Whoa, what just happened?" He turned to Daniel who was trying hard not to laugh.

Daniel shook his head as he burst out laughing. "The Astoria-Megler Bridge over the Columbia freaks her out."

Her eyes wide, hands ringing, she started defending herself. "It's four miles long over a raging river that's 196 feet deep under the bridge."

House pulled his head back and furrowed his brow. "You'll drive up and down a mountain in the iciest conditions in the dead of night and you're afraid of a bridge?"

"Did you hear me? Four miles! 196 Feet deep!"

"I thought you rafted rivers?"

"Yeah, in a raft, not an SUV." She said, her eyes pleading.

"What if I drive across the bridge?"

"Oh, no. You don't know the bridge, I do." She swallowed hard, her mouth pressed so hard together that little of her lips were showing. "I'll go…but you owe me."

"And what will I owe you?"

She shrugged. "We'll see."

They drove through the town on Route 101, the road white with brown streaks from the sand and salt. House pulled the cap she had loaned him down over his ears, waiting for the heater to do its job. It was a gray day with no snow in sight. On the west as they drove north was the Pacific Ocean. Once they turned slightly east he saw it, the beautiful and raging Columbia River. Astoria, Oregon, sat precariously at the mouth of the river where it dumped into the Pacific. The city rose up a large hill filled with clapboard and brick homes until the homes came to the edge of a park with trees. They veered right and then left within the proper lanes as they entered the bridge. House watched as Kate sat upright, confirming her grip on the wheel, staring at the road like a hawk as the car traveled across the two lane bridge.

House paid close attention as the bridge rose up and then came down, close to the river itself. He had to admit that he was uneasy. The flow of the massive river was fast and unrelenting. If she was right, there was 196 feet of freezing water just beneath the floorboard. Half way across he turned and looked behind them. There was something exhilarating knowing that they were too far out for anyone to help if there was a river tidal wave or massive earthquake. And from what he knew about the area, that wouldn't be too farfetched. The ocean floor just off the Oregon-Washington coast was known for being one of those faults overdue for a humongous earthquake. The fault was believed to have been responsible back in the seventeen hundreds for an earthquake so large that it caused a massive tidal wave in Japan, killing thousands. All along the town of Seaside and Astoria were signs directing people on what direction to travel in the event of a tsunami. The same was true of the Washington side.

"You okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'll be better when we get to Megler."

Another three minutes and they were off the bridge and headed towards the Long Beach, Washington, peninsula. He could see her fingers relax their grip.

"How about we get some lunch? It's almost one." House suggested.

"Sure, we'll make one stop and then go to Long Beach for lunch, okay?"

House looked around as they drove, fascinated by the cranberry bogs. A creature moved in the woods along the side of the road, causing House to sit up and shake his head in disbelief. "I thought I saw a bear." He said, but his voice indicated that he didn't believe it.

"You probably did. They don't really hibernate during the winter up here."

"Bears by the side of a road? They're bold."

"You should see them up around my house…very bold." Kate took a road that led to the gate of a park next to the point where the Columbia River met the Pacific. "They locals will be digging Razor clams soon. Do you like clams?"

He nodded.

"Mayge ater Cape Disappointment, we'll have some clam chowder here in Long Beach." She slowed down and motioned to the surroundings. "Here we are, Cape Disappointment. I love it here; it's so wild and wooly."

They drove along the coast with several inlets and bays formed by large hilly peninsulas that jutted out. Rocky and cold, it was a raw landscape with the wild Pacific Ocean bashing rock outcrops to the west and the wide mouth of the Columbia to the south-east. She pulled into a turn out and stopped the car. Stepping out, they walked as far out on the rocks as they safely could with House's cane.

"Damn it's cold." House complained, blowing his warm breath onto his hands.

She nodded. "Cold, but beautiful."

He looked at the waves breaking on the rocks, the cold gray sky and her profile as she stood making this observation and marveled at how seamless the scene was—how beautiful, but bleak they all were. She turned and narrowed her eyes as if to ask what he was looking at?

"You need to take a vacation to California or Florida, someplace sunny. This broody climate just makes your depression worse."

Rolling her eyes, she turned and started back to the car, asking herself why she had ever volunteered to babysit House. But when she talked to House's mother, Blythe had been straightforward and insistent; her son was 'difficult' at best and needed constant supervision or he'd go off the rails. Kate had tried to get her to explain, but all she could say was that Kate should think of Gregory House as a cross between a brilliant detective and a thirteen year old.

Inside the car, House asked, "What now Paduan?"

"You tell me. I'm really out of ideas. During the winter you really need two good legs to see anything of interest. In the summer you can sit on the beach and watch the people."

"I heard you can drive on the beach up here."

"Who told you that?"

"Dan the man."

"Yes, you can. Is that what you want to do?"

"Hell, yeah. We can't drive on the beach in New Jersey."

Shrugging, she started the car and they drove a few miles up the coast and then took a left where the road finally met the wet, hard-packed sand. She drove down the deserted beach, chasing the seagulls as she did. It became a game; she'd slowly sneak up on a flock and then floor it. There was no way she'd let one of them get hurt, but it was fun watching them scatter.

House was enjoying it, mainly because Kate was enjoying it. This little cat and mouse game with the pigeon of the sea was exorcizing the excess angst that lay seething deep in her soul. At one point when one of the seagulls pooped on her windshield she let out a roaring laugh.

"I guess I've been told off!"

House, amused and chuckling, asked her, "We've been doing this for half an hour, are we done now?"

Taking a deep breath, she turned and gave him a guilty smile. "I did get carried away with that, didn't I?"

"That's what made it fun. But I need a snack."

"Your wish is my command."

"In that case, let's go back to your house. I have a few fantasies you can fulfill."

It was like a brisk shot of air as she thought about it. _Sex. _He was a sexual being; she was a sexual being. He had nice looking lips, beautiful eyes and a nice body for his age. But more attractive were his brain and his wit. Now that was a turn on. _Sex._ The only sexual release she'd experienced in the last three years was at the end of her vibrator.

House wasn't sure about the look she was giving him. It was the classic 'deer in headlights' look. "Kate? Food or sex? You decide."

She shook her head to bring her back to the present. "I know a great hotel."

House flinched, surprised at her response.

She threw up her hands. "No, I mean a hotel that has a great restaurant…sorry, sorry."

"Bummer. For a minute I had you naked in my mind."

"You've had me naked in your arms, did I look any different?"

"In my mind you had a little more meat on your hips. So it's my mission to feed you."

They pulled up in the parking lot of a large clapboard hotel with Victorian angles. House noticed that the place was almost empty.

"I take it that this is a summer resort."

"Duh."

"Ouch, you don't have to be sarcastic."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you!"

They were given menus and a window seat where they were able to watch the seagulls pick through the sand for razor clams. House ordered a cheeseburger, Kate the Cobb salad. When the food arrived, House picked a piece of avocado off of Kate's plate and put it on his cheeseburger. Kate stopped and watched, then reached across and grabbed a fistful of fries, cramming them in her mouth. Realizing that it was too much for her to chew and swallow, her eyes started bulging with embarrassment.

House was snorting and laughing. "That'll teach ya. Ya gotta be a big dog to play with the big dogs. You're just a puppy. Leave the pilfering to me."

She put her paper napkin up to her mouth to take half the fries out and then got up, found a trash can and threw it away before returning. When she sat down Kate looked across at him and saw that he was about to burst out laughing. She beat him to it. The sound of her own laughter made Kate uneasy, but she couldn't stop.

A few minutes later they were both eating and discussing the scene of Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine driving on the beach in the Corvette in _Terms of Endearment. _The conversation then took a turn. They began discussing their own experiences on various beaches in the world. House was surprised to find that she had spent several years on Guam as a teen.

"Guam? You must be a military brat—Navy?"

"Air Force. My Dad was enlisted, a jet mechanic."

House motioned to himself. "Marines—Dad was a pilot."

"Of course you'd be an officer's kid."

"And why do you say that?"

"You're so messed up. I never met an officer's kid who wasn't pissed off at their father."

House blinked. "Keith wasn't."

"Oh yes he was. It didn't mean he didn't love his Dad and worship the ground he walked on, but he was pissed off that his father went away for a good chunk of his childhood and that he was a bit of a disciplinarian."

"What about your dad?"

"My dad expected us to be good soldiers, but he was pretty easy in the long run. We just had to bat our eyes and make suck up sounds and he was putty in our hands."

"Our?"

"I have an older sister."

House raised his eyebrows. "Hmmm. Is she single?"

"Yes and she's a nun in a cloister in Puerto Rico."

"Crap."

They drove back to the cabin late in the afternoon and watched some television before Kate made House a sandwich and then went upstairs to read her emails before going to bed. She had given House the password for the computer in the basement and he was already Googling her. The first links to come up were to articles about Keith's death, the inquest and the finding that it was an accident. According to one article, when Kate wasn't charged, Steve had called it a travesty of justice for his brother and niece. But several friends of Kate all claimed that she had suffered enough—more than time in any cell would cause. The court had noted that she was a well known physician who had given up a prestigious position at Cedars Sinai to practice in the backwaters of Oregon, she obviously wasn't likely to cause harm to the public.

Only one article described the actual accident in depth, including the information that she had gone home sick with the flu that afternoon. Doctors who took a blood sample to check for alcohol (which was negative) stated that her temperature was over 102° F and had probably been higher at the time of the accident.

_Doctor Carson, the treating physician, told this reporter that Dr. Monaghan should have been home in bed. "A fever that high makes it difficult at best to function, let alone drive on an icy road." An employee who had been drinking with Huntington that evening indicated that he had suggested that Huntington stay in a Portland hotel for the night, but that Huntington insisted that he wanted to go home._

A few articles later in the week had headlines that screamed, _Prominent Oncologist Attempts Suicide After Fatal Accident that Killed Her Family_. It told the whole sad story over of the accident and then described in vague terms how she had taken prescription medication in an attempt to end her life.

Back to Google and he began to find early articles praising her for raising money for the hospital, announcing the birth of her baby girl, and even further back in time were several articles describing prominent contractor, Keith Huntington's marriage to the brilliant oncologist from Los Angeles who graduated top of her class at Johns Hopkins.

There was a photo of Keith and Kate on the wedding day with one of the articles. Kate was spectacular, looking like a golden Goddess in a very flattering off the shoulder wedding dress. Keith was weathered from years of working outdoors, but still ruggedly handsome with a wide grin that reminded him of his own—that is, when he did grin. They looked happy, not just wedding day happy, but the kind of happiness he always dreamed of having with a woman he loved.

Turning off the computer, House suddenly felt the weight of his brother's death and the guilt of not responding to his attempts to reach out to him over the years. Kate and Maxie had been the pinnacle of Keith's success and now they were all dead, in one way or another. But, clearly from the happiness he saw in Keith's face, he wouldn't have wanted Kate to be in this pain. He'd want her to live, be happy, keep going.

Standing up, House felt a dull pain shoot from the base of his skull up to his the top of his head. The side effects of the procedures were taking their toll. House looked around for some Ibuprofen, but couldn't find any. Walking slowly up the stairs to keep his head from jarring, he made it to the landing and walked to her room, knocking loudly on the door.

"Kate, I have a headache. Do you have any painkillers?"

She opened the door. Her eyes were heavy with sleep, but still, in that unguarded moment, she looked almost peaceful. "Huh?"

"I need painkillers."

"Oh? Headache? That could be the—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, the side effects."

She was more alert now, moving quickly into doctor mode. "They…my staff, stripped me of most of my real painkillers, but I do have some Motrin and Naproxen, which would you prefer?"

"Give me the Naproxen."

She nodded and hesitated before finally opening the door further. "Uh, come on in while I get it."

House stepped through the door and watched as she crossed the long rectangular room to the bathroom where she disappeared. The only light in the room was from the bedside lamp and it barely cast any light into the cavernous room. There were dying embers from a fire in the massive marble fireplace. Above the fireplace was a bare spot where a portrait or piece of art had obviously hung. From what he could see, there were no photos and very few personal items displayed. There were massive book cases flanking the fireplace and several books disbursed throughout the room, on the sofa, chaise and bed. It was a beautiful room with tasteful, but almost feminine, furniture. Where the rest of the house had heavier furniture befitting a log cabin, her bedroom could have been right out of a Beverly Hills mansion.

She hurried back with the pills in the palm of her hand, grabbing the glass of water on her night stand and handing them both to him. There was a moment when their hands touched as the pills passed from her to him.

She was warm and soft and the electricity that he felt surprised him. "Thanks." He said.

"Would you like me to get you an ice pack or something?"

"No, that's okay. I'm going to go to bed."

"I hope you feel better."

"Thanks."

They stared at each other for an awkward moment and then House strolled out the door, wondering what she would have done if he had reached out and pulled her to him? Would she have backed away?


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Monday **

It was the sound of a pan falling to the ground that woke him. He walked out in his shorts and t-shirt, yawning and scratching his chest.

She was bent over picking up the pan when he walked around the counter and saw her. Glancing up, she gave him a look of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. I was going to let you sleep in…I thought I'd run down to the hospital, get the G-CSF and bring it back so that you didn't have to go down. It's clearing up a little and I thought maybe you'd like to go for a walk or drive? The roads are clear. How's your head?"

"Okay. I'm not much of a walker, but I wouldn't mind getting a tour of your property."

"Sure, when I get back we can do that. I can make you breakfast or if you want, you can have cereal or oatmeal or…well, whatever."

"Just go. I'll figure something out."

She grabbed her things and left while House rummaged around in the cupboard finally settling on a bowl of Banana Nut cereal. He kicked back on top of his bed and watched television, falling asleep again until a hand touched his shoulder.

"Wha…? House's eyes flashed open.

"I'm back. Want the shot now?"

He rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Yeah."

She gave him the shot and then went out to the kitchen to make herself some lunch. House took a quick shower and joined her at the breakfast bar. She pushed a sandwich towards him. "Tuna salad."

House sneered at the healthy looking sandwich, but took it. They ate in silence for a few minutes and then House asked, "How's Daniel?"

"He's undergoing total body irradiation so he's not feeling very well. He told me to say hello to you."

After lunch they both bundled up in layers of down jackets, fleece and leather gloves. They began their walk by passing through the mud room and out the back door. The property was substantial, spanning through a large chunk of forest. They started meandering away from the house and outbuildings towards what appeared to be a small ditch, probably a creek now several feet under the snow and ice. They crossed over a small pedestrian bridge and stopped to look over a rocky cliff at the white tipped forested valley below. Conscious of House's leg, Kate steered him away from the path that led down into the valley.

"Aren't we going down there?"

"No, the path is tricky enough during the summer and very icy during the winter."

"Who owns the land down there?"

"We do…I mean, I do. One hundred and thirty acres came with the house."

They walked back towards the house, both of them cognizant of the quiet and beauty of the crisp blanket of white snow hanging from every branch, every bush and every rock. The red scarf around Kate's neck was the only color that stood out against the pure white of the scenery. Besides the main house, there was a barn, a storage building and a large four car garage with what appeared to be an apartment above it.

As they walked towards it, House asked, "Is that an apartment?"

"Yes, a one bedroom apartment. At one point we had someone who lived in it at a reduced rent so long as they helped with the animals. He moved out about three months after the accident."

House noted that he probably moved out right around the attempted suicide, not wanting to be around when she was successful.

Kate turned towards the cabin, but House turned towards the garage. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I want to see the apartment."

"No."

House came to a dead stop, now even more curious about the apartment. "Why?"

"It's just used as storage."

"Of what?"

"Things, just things."

Without any further discussion, House continued towards the apartment, climbing the snow laden stairs to the top. Kate stood at the bottom of the steps, refusing to budge. Turning the doorknob, House was surprised to find that it was locked. He tried to look inside through the glass on the door, but it was dark and the blinds were barely open.

"Where's the key?"

"You're not going in there. Come on, it's getting cold out here."

She was right, the sun was lower in the sky and the temperature was dropping. He decided that he'd do his snooping later, when she was at work. Walking down the stairs was tricky with his leg and the icy steps. House slipped twice, almost tumbling down the stairs but managing to catch himself each time.

"You go on to the house, I'm going to milk the cow and feed all the animals. "

House begrudgingly went into the house and down to the man cave where he turned on a wrestling channel and began to watch a rerun of a rather over-the-top smack down. After it was over, he went upstairs to pour himself a drink. Kate stomped into the mudroom off of the kitchen and hung up her jacket, storing her wet boots under the bench. She carried a pail of milk and several eggs in a basket into the kitchen where she put them on the counter and began to wash them.

"More unpasteurized milk?" House asked.

"You seem to be tolerating it well."

"Yeah, well you haven't seen my BMs."

"Lovely. Is it really that bad?"

He shook his head. "Actually, I screwed up my bowels with my Vicodin abuse. I'm usually on the constipated side. It's nice to not have to strain."

"Well, if you find that it gets worse, let me know." She put the milk through cheesecloth and then the pitcher into the refrigerator. "Are you hungry?"

"Yep."

"I thawed some steaks."

"Brilliant."

The filet mignon were grilled and paired with baked potatoes and a spinach dish. Kate set the main table which was on the far side of the great room with a view overlooking the canyon, but because it was dark, all he could see was the light of the house bouncing off the snow below. Still it and the fireplace in the great room made it very dreamy and would have been romantic if they had been dating.

He was determined to start a conversation with her. "Where did you go to med school?"

"Hopkins."

"I went to—"

"I know, your reputation was still intact when I was there. How you lost the Doyle Fellowship was legendary. Why did you do it?"

"I'd been out drinking all night long and hadn't studied."

"Is it true that the guy you cheated off got it wrong?"

House rolled his eyes as he gave her a quick nod. "Yeah, he got it wrong and he grassed me up."

She laughed. "Ouch. Still, everyone knew you were brilliant. I've heard that you don't treat patients."

"Are you asking whether I refuse to see the patient or that I don't actually treat the illness? Because I don't do either."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You don't see your patient and you don't treat them?"

"It depends of course. Sometimes I do both. Sometimes I have to see the patient to discover what my team has missed. And sometimes I treat to shorten the time to diagnose the problem. If the treatment works, then I know I'm right about my diagnosis. But usually my team deals with the patient and I focus on the diagnosis. Once we have the diagnosis, I could care less about the treatment. My team conducts the treatment or we turn the patient over to the appropriate specialty."

"I was rather shocked to find that there was a whole department dedicated just to diagnosing a patient. It seems like overkill."

Rolling his eyes he snorted. "Yeah, well we get hundred of referrals a month from doctors who can't diagnose their patient despite involving several specialties…so obviously, we fill a need."

She gave him a smile which he wasn't expecting. "I guess you do. I take it that you're the doctor of last resort?"

"You can say that."

"By the time they get to you, they must be in bad shape."

"They're dying."

The conversation was interesting, House learning that Kate had started out in Infectious Diseases but was offered a fellowship at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston after her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Mass General.

"You must have been a star student to have been offered the fellowship at Dana Farber."

"I knew it was my ticket to Cedars Sinai. I'd been informed that if I took it and did well, I'd be hired by Cedars when I was done."

"You wanted to get to the west coast?"

"It's where my family was living at the time."

"Kate, why are you still in Oregon if you want to be in California? You don't have anything holding you here."

She put her fork and knife down and looked pensive. "I have Daniel. He keeps me here. Keith helped raise him before I came along. He was like a son and I feel I owe it to Keith to try and save him. I also have my cabin, my friends, my loyal staff…this seems like home now."

He appreciated her honesty. "What happens if Daniel dies?"

She flinched. "I …I don't know."

She suddenly stood up and started clearing the table. House grabbed her hand and stopped her. Kate's gray eyes met his. The sadness was almost palpable.

"Hey, he's got a good chance now. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you worry." He was surprised he said it to her, but he could no longer hold her at fault for Keith's death. He'd come to the conclusion that Keith would have told him to grow up, _shit happens_, that he shouldn't have called her to come and get him at two in the morning. Keith would have accepted that he was also to blame for his own death and the death of his daughter. More importantly, Keith would want him to watch out for this damaged soul, his beautiful wife, the woman he loved.

"I am worried. Greg, what if I can't save him?"

"Life goes on. It's a disease; it's not your fault."

A tear rolled down her cheek. House put his napkin down and stood up, taking her into his arms and letting her cry.

A muffled voice came from his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't cry."

"Why not? If anyone has earned it, you have."

Kate could smell him; it was a pleasant, masculine smell, but not heavy. His chest and shoulders were remarkably toned for a man over fifty. She slowly reached around him and let her body give in to the emotion that had simmered for so long. The tears came so fast and hard, she was afraid that she'd be unable to stop or let go.

House stroked her hair and after a few minutes of sobbing, he made soft shushing noises to calm her. The sobs turned to sniffles and then to the occasional hiccup. Kate released her grip on him and then stepped back, looking down at the floor as she composed herself. She grabbed the dirty dishes from the table and scurried off to the kitchen.

House considered what had just happened. The feel of her in his arms seemed natural. Comforting her was instinctive. He grabbed his glass of wine, one of the remaining dirty dishes and took off towards the kitchen. Loading the dishwasher, she reached out and grabbed the dirty dish from his hand, but he refused to release it until she acknowledged him. Surprised at the resistance to her pull, she looked up and blushed when she saw the look in his eyes. It wasn't pity or hatred or blame or disgust; it was kindness and concern, something she wasn't expecting from him.

"Kate, you need to—"

"Greg, please, I don't need to be told how to deal with this. I get told to take my time, grief has its own timetable or some tell me to just 'get over it', get on with my life—that's what Keith would want, and then others tell me to move away, start over, and then some say I should use the internet to start dating again..." She stopped and put the dirty dish in the dishwasher. Closing the door, she used the back of her hand to smooth back some of the hair hanging in her face. "I get advice from everyone on how to get over this, but there is no getting over this. Sure, each day I feel a little more competent, a little more at ease with what my life is now, a little more alive, but I'm never going to be over this—never."

"I was just going to say that you need to get off your feet—I'll do the rest of the cleanup."

She started laughing. "Oh, dear, I stuck my foot in that one didn't I?"

He grinned. "I know you don't believe it, but Keith would have been the first to tell you that he'd want you to get on with your life."

She sighed. "Et tu Brute?"

House grabbed a sponge and started cleaning, something he didn't usually do when someone else was available, but she'd been a good hostess and it was the least he could do. After he was done he wiped his hands on his jeans.

"I didn't really do anything today and I'm beat." He announced.

"It's the drugs. Do you have a headache?"

"A slight one."

She gave him some Ibuprofen and watched as he said good night and went off to his room to watch television. There was a moment when she almost asked if she could join him, she didn't want to be alone, but she suspected that he wanted some privacy. After turning off most of the lights, she passed by the bar and thought seriously about grabbing a bottle, but quickly remembered her promise and kept going.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Tuesday**

Before Kate left for work, she woke House and administered the shot. House went back to sleep, waking at ten. After showering and scrounging up a breakfast, he went in search of the key to the garage. It didn't take long; he found it in the key cabinet in the mud room. Looking out the door, he noticed that there was a light sprinkling of fresh snow on the ground, but nowhere near what had fallen over the last four days. Bundling up he walked out to the apartment and climbed the steps.

The door opened with a slight squeak. House found a light by the side of the door and turned it on. He immediately walked into what was probably a living room but was so full of boxes and things it was hard to tell. There were dozens of photos lying around, all of Keith, Maxie and Kate. Picking up what looked as if it was one of the last photos taken of the three of them together, House stared at it for a lingering moment. Maxie was a beautiful little girl with gorgeous blue eyes and dark eyelashes like Keith. Her hair was a light golden brown and her petite nose was freckled like her mother's. The three of them looked happy, their heads all huddled together with huge smiles spread from one cheek to the other. House felt a twinge of jealousy for the perfect little family.

Moving on, House saw that the front room had boxes of sports equipment which had probably belonged to Keith. Other boxes held toys, baby equipment, toddler clothes. The bedroom closet housed numerous men's suits, tuxedos and a large plastic dress cover over the wedding dress he had seen in the newspaper photograph of Kate.

_So this is the graveyard of her life. She'd managed to scrape any vestige of it from the cabin but she couldn't muster the courage to give it away. _

House spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon going through photo albums, books, and the possessions of the dead. There were a few laughs when he found the photos of Keith and him together. He retrieved them and decided that he'd taken them home to Princeton. After satisfying his curiosity, he walked back to the cabin, wondering if she had made it home yet, but she wasn't there. A few minutes later she called.

"I'm still at work. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little under the weather."

"Feel achy? Head ache?"

"Yeah."

"That's from the shot. You'll feel worse with each day. We have you scheduled for collection on Thursday. Daniel will be ready too. He's very excited."

"When are you coming home?" He had to laugh; he sounded like a spouse.

"I should be home around six. I'll stop and pick up something to eat. Do you like Chinese?"

"Sure. Get me Kung Po Chicken."

"Okie dokie. See you in a few hours."

"Drive safely." _Where did that come from?_

"I will. Take some Ibuprofen, it should help."

They sat around the fire and ate their Chinese straight from the carton with their chopsticks. After a few minutes they exchanged cartons, House giving her his Kung Po, Kate giving House her Shrimp in Walnut sauce. It seemed the natural thing to do.

"I hope I don't have anything to give you." She said after he'd already eaten out of the carton.

"Don't worry. It's not like you spit in the food."

"You didn't see me? I brought up a huge spitball…"

House held up a hand. "Enough! I'm trying to eat."

She laughed at him and received a sly smile back. After a few minutes she started asking about his day. He didn't tell her about his excursion into the apartment, telling her he spent most of the day in bed.

Switching topics, he asked, "What happens after the stem-cell collection?"

"You'll feel really under the weather, like you have a very bad case of the flu for a few days. Around the third or fourth day you'll feel better, but it will take a few weeks to get back to normal."

"What about flying home?"

"Can you stay here for a few more days? I really think it would be a bad idea to leave until the fourth or fifth day after the transfer."

"I have until December 15th off."

"Another two weeks?"

"Long story."

"I'm all ears."

He debated about telling her, but decided that it really didn't matter. She listened as he described the case that had resulted in his suspension. "I took an additional week off."

"Cool, we get to keep you in Oregon because you're a bad boy…that's hilarious."

He shrugged and gave her a shit-eating grin.

"Greg, I'm going to do laundry, so give me yours. And pack a bag for overnight. I'm not going to take any chances; you're going to stay at a hotel near the hospital tomorrow night just to make sure that we aren't stuck up on the mountain. I'll stay at the hospital tomorrow."

He went to the bedroom and grabbed his dirty clothes bag, taking it to her in the laundry room. He went down to the man cave and started watching an old Clint Eastwood movie. She came out and saw what he was watching so she stopped and sat down near him.

"I love Clint Eastwood. I have to see all of his movies."

"Me too."

"Keith wasn't as big a fan as I am. He could take or leave Clint."

House sat up. "Really?"

"Yeah, he was big on Bruce Willis."

"_Really? _He's okay, but he's no Clint Eastwood."

"I agree!"

They sat back and watched the movie. Kate eventually got up and took care of the laundry, bringing back the dry clothes for the two of them to fold. House resisted until Kate threw one of his t-shirts at him.

"You can help." She said with the tone his mother frequently used.

Sighing, he sat up straight and folded his clothes, finding a pair of her lacy bikini panties inside his boxers. "I don't remember packing these," House said as he held up the panties in the air.

Kate reached out and with one swipe grabbed her panties. "Funny, ha, ha."

"I'd like to see you in those."

"Why? You've seen me without them."

"My image of your nude body is fading…I need a refresher course."

"Yeah, right." But she was secretly happy that he was teasing her about wanting to see more. Apparently, her body was still desirable.

They turned off the television after the movie and went to their respective beds, both worried about the coming days. House could feel his body reacting to the drug and he worried that he couldn't take much more. Each day he lost energy and his body ached all over. He wondered what he would feel like after the transfer?

Kate was anxious, hoping that the transfer would work and Daniel would be saved. Then there was Greg House. He made her anxious too. Not only was she worried about his health, but she didn't know how to take him. One minute he was a bastard, the other he was charming, almost vulnerable. Her attraction to him baffled her. He was similar to Keith, but they were also very different. Keith was cynical, but he charmed everyone around him—people liked him—a lot. Greg House seemed to relish the fact that people had a hard time liking him. But, she did like him and it made her nervous.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 **

**Wednesday**

**Down the Mountain**

"I'll be back at two this afternoon to pick you up. It's supposed to snow tonight so I want to get down the mountain before it gets dark." Kate had just administered the last dose of the drug and was headed off to work.

House nodded and pulled down his sleeve. "I think I'm going to nap."

"Good idea. Still feeling sick?"

"Yeah, headache is worse and the aching is bad too."

"Sorry. It's almost over." She said with a mother's voice, her effort to comfort him.

House let out a deep breath of frustration and nodded as Kate picked up her keys and left. Back in bed, House drifted in and out of sleep until noon when his stomach dictated that he get some nourishment. After a quick lunch, he showered and dressed.

At one thirty Kate arrived home and ran up the stairs, grabbing her overnight bag. When she came back down she had a wild look in her eyes. "We have to get going, it's snowing already."

The urgency in her voice had him worried. "Bad?"

"Not yet, but getting there. Make sure you take the gloves hat and scarf I loaned you."

Ten minutes later they were making their way slowly down the cabin road to Route 26. The SUV was in low gear as it plowed over the soft new snow. There was the occasional fishtail, but nothing drastic. House was glad that they were getting off the mountain. The roads were getting tricky and he was certain that they would have been snowed in again.

The Seaside Inn was nothing to brag about, although House's room did enter from a common interior hallway, making the experience a notch up from a motel. Once inside the room, it could have been a Best Western. He put his things down and immediately kicked back to watch television.

"Since you've already eaten, I'm going back to work. Call me if you need anything." Kate announced.

House grunted and turned on the television. As she left, he called out, "When are you coming back?"

She stopped. "Around six, okay?"

He nodded.

In the middle of reading several x-rays for a lung cancer patient, her phone began to vibrate. Pulling it out of her pocket she smiled. "Hey punk? What's up?"

"When are you coming to see me?"

"I'm working my way over to your ward. How do you feel?" Daniel had been irradiated the day before and she already knew from updates that he'd had a rough night.

"Like crap. All I do is puke, crap and sleep."

"I promise it will get better."

"I'm bored."

"I know sweetie, but just remember, this too shall pass."

"Ugh…you always say that."

She laughed. "Just a few minutes more. Bye." Hanging up, she leaned forward to look at a dark spot on the x-ray. Her phone vibrated again. Pulling it out, she hit the talk button without looking at caller i.d. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you're bored and you want me to come see you…just relax, I'll be there soon."

"How did you know that I was bored?"

"House? Oh…I thought…you're bored?" She paused and then nodded to herself, "I have a suggestion. Daniel's bored too, why don't you take a taxi over and you two can play chess or something."

"Can you give me something for my headache?"

"Sure, I'll find something."

"Okay."

Half an hour later the three of them were in Daniel's room. House and Kate were dressed head to toe in hazmat suits to prevent Daniel from catching anything. They didn't play anything, the three of them simply sat and talked about everything under the stars. House discovered that his nephew was a little bit of a redneck, but very conscious about the environment like most Oregonians. Kate didn't share her political views, but did let it slip that Keith had been a Republican. House roared with laughter, but refused to share his reason.

An hour later, both Daniel and House were tired although Daniel was trying desperately to keep his eyes open. Kate stood up and announced that Daniel needed to sleep startling House out of his light slumber. Kate blew Daniel a kiss and left the isolation room. House jumped up, said goodbye and followed Kate.

"Dinner?" She asked as they slowly made their way across the parking lot. Ice had formed when the sun started to fall lower in the skyline.

"Let's just get something to go and take it back to the hotel." House suggested.

"What would you like?"

"Pizza."

"Okay, let me call Petro's and order one. What do you like?"

"Everything but pineapple."

"I love pineapple…you and Keith." She said as she rolled her eyes in mock disappointment.

They picked up the pizza and took it back to the room, sitting at the table to eat. They talked about the procedure and then about Daniel's chances. After finishing up the meal, she stood up, threw the box away and picked up her purse. "I'm going back to the hospital to grab a bunk."

House grabbed her hand.

"Don't leave. Stay and watch some TV with me."

She looked surprised. "I thought you were tired?"

"I am, but I've been alone for the last few days. The only thing I have to look forward to is when you walk through the door." It was said matter of fact, with no drama or whining.

He sounded so genuine that it caused her to blush. "I'm sorry; I haven't been a very good hostess."

"Oh, bull. I didn't mean it that way. I'm too tired to really go out, I just like company when I am awake. I didn't bring my medical journals."

"I have journals…I'll get them for you. You'll have plenty of time to read tomorrow, the procedure takes four hours."

"Christ…four hours?"

Kate had put down her purse and sat down on the opposite side of the bed from House. They both pulled their legs up and sat with their backs to the headboard. Turning on the television, they settled in and went through two pay-to-watch movies before House looked over and found that Kate had moved down on the bed, putting her head on the pillow. He smiled to himself because it was clear that she was fast asleep. Staring for a few minutes, he couldn't help but think that Kate looked comfortable, as if she belonged there. He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and got undress, coming back to the bed in his shorts.

Tempted to snuggle up to her, he was pretty sure that if he did something would start to stir and they'd both be embarrassed if she said, "no." So he politely stayed on his own side, but when he woke up she was glued to his back, arm around his waist. Turning to look over his shoulder he saw two gray eyes staring up at him in shock.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Thursday**

**Let's Roll**

"Oh, my God, what time is it?" Kate shrieked, her face flushed with embarrassment from discovering that she was pressed up against House's back.

"Six am."

She let out a sigh of relief. "I need to be at the hospital by seven. I'm sorry that I fell asleep."

"Yeah, well don't let it happen again." He said with a phony look of admonishment.

She stood up, happily discovered that she was completely dressed this time, and slipped into the bathroom. The taste in her mouth made her grimace. There was only one thing to do, she grabbed his toothbrush out of his toiletry bag and started brushing.

He called out,_ "I can hear you brushing your teeth. Are you using my toothbrush?"_

Kate swallowed some toothpaste as she hastily rinsed the toothbrush and put it back. Sticking her head out she raised her forehead and shrugged to say she was guilty.

"Next time, ask." He growled, secretly glad that she felt comfortable enough to take such a liberty.

"Sorry…I just hate morning breath."

He got up and scratched his package as he approached the bathroom. Standing there with only his boxers on, his hairy chest and wild bed hair in full view, she found herself inexplicably attracted to the masculine figure that he cut standing there almost naked. Blood rush to her groin and even her breasts betrayed her, they began to tingle.

"You're staring at me as if I'm your next meal." House commented, his eyebrow raised suspiciously.

She snorted. "I wasn't! Come on, let's get going, you're up to bat today."

"I was just waiting for you to get out unless you want to take a shower with me." With that he dropped his boxers causing Kate to squeal and back out of the bathroom in a hurry. House grinned to himself as he pulled back the shower curtain and stepped inside.

Flustered, Kate had gotten a good look, good enough that she could see that House was probably the same if not a little larger than her husband. Her heart beating fast, she allowed a little smile to cross her face before grabbing her purse and putting on a touch of lipstick.

House came out in a clean pair of boxers and got dressed while Kate watched, just as she had watched Keith hundreds of times before. House, somewhat conscious of her staring at his scar, turned slightly to prevent her from seeing it.

"It really bothers you, doesn't it?" She asked.

"My long schlong? Yeah, it constantly gets in the way. I have to drape it over my shoulder so I don't step on it."

"The scar."

"Oh, that? No, I just tell the hookers that it's from the Gulf War."

Kate laughed. "The hookers?"

"Yeah, I call them my hourly girlfriends."

"Why hookers?"

"Do you have to ask?"

"No strings?"

"I had strings, lots of strings with my last girlfriends. I almost hung myself on those strings."

"Oh, you broke up?"

"Yes, in more ways than one."

She was stunned into silence at the thought about him being emotionally broken up. Very softly she said, "Are you ready? We need to drop the card key at the desk."

They drove to the hospital, both pondering the possibility that House might actually save Daniel by his donation. Once they arrived, they stopped by Daniel's room and said hello to Stephen, Ann and Daniel. Everyone was both anxious and excited about the upcoming events, talking in fast clips and smiling a lot. Kate motioned for everyone to leave so that she could begin preparing Daniel.

House was taken to the Cardiac Catheterization Lab where he was placed under general anesthesia and a catheter placed in his neck. The catheter was necessary in order to carry blood to the apheresis machine, where the stem cells were collected, and to return the residual blood back to House.

Once the catheter was in place, House awake and the machinery turned on, Kate sat across from House and told him, "The PBSC collection takes four to five hours. You're free to sleep, read or watch television. If you need to go to the bathroom, we can provide you with a bed pan or we can remove the catheter and replace it, but if I were you, I'd op for the bedpan. Typically, only a single collection is necessary and then we'll remove the catheter and you can go home. I'm going to have to stay afterwards and assist with giving the PBSC to Daniel. You can stay here, or Steven can drive you to his house to wait for me. Or, Steve told me that you could spend the night at their house."

"I'm going to feel like shit, aren't I?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Then I don't really want to stay somewhere where they might expect me to be sociable. Besides, if something goes wrong, I'd rather have a doctor available."

"Fine, then I'll arrange for you to be taken to the doctor's lounge. There's a bunkbed and a sofa in there for the doctors on call. You can lie down."

"Okay."

"Do you need anything before I go?"

He checked and he had his water, medical journals and the remote to the television. "Unless you want to give me a lap dance, I think I'm fine."

"Great. See you in four hours."

Kate went to check on Daniel's progress and, after assuring herself that all systems were go, she made rounds. At noon she went back to check on House. He was just finishing up.

He looked up over the nurse's shoulder and saw her enter. Pleased to see her, he gave her a nod of acknowledgment. "Now what?"

"I'll show you where the lounge is. Do you want some food?"

"I'm a little nauseated."

"Okay, I'll get you some medicine for that and give you a painkiller. You're going to want to sleep."

She set him up in the doctor's lounge and left after he fell asleep on the lower bunk-bed. By the time she got back to Daniel, they were ready to administer the stem cells. She wasn't really needed, the nurse and tech could do it by themselves, but she wanted to be with him when it began. After Daniel was well into the treatment, she gave him a thumbs up and went about her business, stopping in to monitor Daniel and House from time to time.

When she drove House home that evening through the newly plowed road, he went straight to bed. Occasionally Kate would poke her head in the door and check on him, but he was sound asleep each time. Around four in the morning, Kate, up to answer the call of nature, quietly opened the door to House's room to make sure he was okay. House rose up on his elbows and looked at her.

**Thank you so much for the reviews...they really do make my day!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Friday**

**Hurts So Good**

"Do you have something for the aching?"

"I'll get you some Naproxen." She left and came back with the pills and a glass of water.

"What are you doing up at four in the morning?" He asked.

"Potty…and I've been checking on you, making sure you're okay."

"I've been sleeping off and on for the last eighteen hours. Why don't you just lay down here and if I need you I can wake you." He patted the other side of the bed.

A grin crossed her face. "I don't know. We've been sleeping together a lot."

He chuckled. "Well, there's sleeping and then there's sleeping. Come on, you can use the throw…not even bother to get under the covers."

She hesitated, but eventually she gave in, grabbing the throw and lying down on the bed as far apart from him as she could comfortably get. House turned to face her, but she had her back to him. After a few minutes he could hear her breathing become slow and regular, letting him know that she was asleep.

Around seven House woke and found a note telling him that she had left for the hospital, but had made him a sandwich and snacks which were in the kitchen. He made himself at home, not feeling like doing anything requiring stamina.

Kate called him on several occasions to touch base. On the last call she finally announced that she was on her way home with groceries and that she was going to cook him a wonderful pasta dish. Was he allergic to fish?

She arrived and immediately headed for the little bathroom off the kitchen.

"How was Daniel?" He yelled.

"Wait…" She yelled. "I have to pee really bad."

A few minutes later she was out of the bathroom. "Did you ask about Daniel?"

He nodded.

"He's not doing as well as I had hoped."

House could feel beads of sweat break out on his forehead. "What's wrong?"

"Infection. He's on intravenous antibiotics. But I'm not getting too worried just yet, his fever isn't very high. It could be a reaction to the procedure." She paused and took a good look at him, noticing that he was pale and looking tired.

"Are you okay, Greg?"

He nodded. "I'm just tired."

"Would you like something to drink while I cook?"

"Milk?"

"Sure."

She poured him a medium glass of milk and then began slicing tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. With olive oil and garlic in a pan, she stir fried the vegetables together and then poured the vegetables over the yellow fin tuna that she had placed in aluminum foil. Putting it on to bake, Kate then made Basmati rice and snow peas.

At the table, House had to acknowledge that the fish was delicious. "This is good."

"Thanks. I'll take something I've cooked and frozen out to thaw for tomorrow night. I won't be here long enough to cook so you can heat it up when you get hungry."

A slight feel of panic hit him. "What? You won't be here?"

"I have the staff Christmas party to attend."

He blurted out, _"I want to go."_

She tilted her head and blinked. "You do? Why?"

"I don't want to stay here alone."

"Do you have a suit or dinner jacket?"

"No."

"It's rather formal. Look, if you don't want to be alone, I could take you over to Steve's house."

"I'll find something of Keith's to wear."

Her face went cold. "I don't' have anything of Keith's."

"Don't lie to me, Kate. I know his things are above the garage. In fact, I saw one of his tuxedos up there. I can wear it."

"_What did you do?_ _Did you do anything to the things up there?"_ She was panicking, her voice wild with anxiety.

"I didn't do anything except look around."

"_You had no right!"_

"Why don't you either get rid of those things or bring some of them in here? Why are all the photos in your garage?"

"Because I don't deserve to see them anymore."

"Of course you do. You loved them, they loved you."

"I killed them."

"Yeah, you did, but it wasn't as if you wanted that to happen. You'd exchange places with either one of them. You didn't _murder_ them. There was never any intent to do harm."

Grabbing her plate, she jumped up from the table and walked to the sink.

"Kate, I'm going out to get the evening jacket, okay?"

Turning around she stared for a few moments and then nodded. "You'll find the smallest one in the closet in the bedroom. It's a Hugo Boss dinner jacket and trousers. Better yet, you stay here; I'll go get you what you'll need."

"Then I can go with you to your party?"

She sighed and swallowed hard, trying to gather her resolve "Yes, you can go. We have to leave here at six to get there by seven. It includes an awful chicken dinner. I usually stay for the dinner and then leave."

"Okay. I'll be ready."

"I should be home at four-thirty. We'll leave at six."

He knew this was the time to give her the news. "I made reservations to go back to Princeton for Monday, so if you don't mind I'd like to go down and see Daniel tomorrow."

She knew that he wouldn't stay forever, but now that there was a date attached to the actual day that he would leave, she felt empty. "Sure, I just need to find someone to give you a ride home unless you'd like to spend the whole day down there?"

"No, I don't think I can spend a whole day at the hospital and then go to the party. Maybe Steve could give me a ride back and I can spend a little time with him."

"I'll call him. He should have Saturday off and frankly, he owes you one. But, I thought you had until the fifteenth?"

"It's time I let you get back to your life and I need to go home. Wilson called and told me that my team was having a hard time without me. I think the Board may relent and ask me back early."

She didn't know why she suddenly felt so alone, but she did. Kate gave House a smile and nodded but didn't dare say anything or he'd know how sad she felt.

**Dear Readers, If this afternoon it appears from the reviews that most of you have caught up I'll post another chapter in the afternoon. I know the last three have been short.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Saturday**

**Christmas Spirit**

Arrangements with Steve were made and the next morning House accompanied Kate down the mountain. They talked the entire way about health reform and new approaches to diagnosing patients. It was a heated debate, but House refrained from calling her a moron because, even though he disagreed with her on several issues, she presented cogent arguments, some which he hadn't considered. Once they arrived at the hospital, they both went back to Daniel's room which was now located in an area where he could be isolated. House dressed in the appropriate clean-room clothing, washed his hands for five minutes prior to entering. Daniel was smiling, happy to have company, especially his uncle.

"Dude, how's it hangin'?" House asked.

Daniel's voice was a little hoarse from not speaking to anyone yet that day. "Better than yesterday. My fever is down and I don't ache as much. I heard you've been tired?"

House nodded. "A little on the weak side."

"Sorry about that. How's living with Aunt Kate?"

"Weird. She's a real basket case."

Daniel didn't look surprised. "I know. It's a shame you didn't meet her before the accident. She was so much fun…really nutty and alive. She was the kind of person who drew faces on her eggs. You'd open the refrigerator and there would be all these wide eyed eggs…it was funny. She sent an AA counselor and a priest to Uncle Keith's bachelor party. She glued a quarter to the sidewalk outside our house. We'd sit on the porch and watch people try and pick it up. She and Uncle Keith kept us in stitches and we'd just die laughing. When she met Uncle Keith and he started hitting on her, she tried to get rid of him. Aunt Kate told him, "I'm ovulating right now." She thought he'd run. He just turned and asked her if she wanted a boy or girl because most of his sperm were boys and great swimmers."

House was grinning, wondering if the world would ever see that Kate again. "Boy, now she's got about as much personality as Marilyn Monroe."

Daniel wrinkled his brow. "Marilyn Monroe is dead."

"Precisely."

Daniel looked down, sad that his aunt was no longer the vivacious woman he knew her to be. "God, I loved being around them. We laughed so much. I used to make up excuses to spend weekends with them. And Maxie was fun too. She was only two, but she'd dance and make faces, anything to make us laugh."

House nodded his understanding.

"Uncle Greg, do you think she'll ever get over it?"

House grimaced. "I don't think you ever get over the loss of your child and husband. But, who knows, maybe someday she'll get some of that sparkle back."

"I hope so. I was kinda hoping that you two would hook up. You remind me of Uncle Keith."

"So I've been told and told and told."

Daniel snickered.

They talked about Princeton and House even offered to put him on the sofa if he wanted to travel back to check out the campus. Daniel perked up and gave House an enthusiastic, 'yes'. After an hour of lively conversation, they were both exhausted. Steve showed up and let House know he was ready to give him a ride up the mountain. House got up and said his goodbyes, telling Daniel that he was going home on Monday. Daniel looked as if he might cry.

"Uncle Greg? Can I shake your hand?"

House blinked, unsure of this gesture. He walked over and extended his hand. Daniel took the gloved hand and pulled House towards him to throw an arm around his shoulder in a manly hug.

"Thanks Uncle Greg, thanks so much. I can't tell you how cool it is to know you."

House swallowed hard and tried to compose himself. The feelings were mutual, but he knew if he said anything at that moment, it would come out garbled in some teary proclamation. So House just nodded and patted Daniel on the back before turning and rushing through the door.

Quiet when they first pulled out of the parking lot, eventually Steve and House talked about Daniel's chances and treatment. House mentioned the trip to Princeton and Steve smiled.

"I think he'd like that. He seems to have taken a shine to you."

"He's a good kid. You're lucky."

"Yeah, we are. He's always been a great kid, spunky, witty, cynical, but always a good head on his shoulders."

As they were turning off Route 26, House asked Steve to point out where Kate and Keith had gone over. They came around a narrow curve as Steve pointed. House could see that the drop was about thirty, maybe thirty-five, feet down. If the car was airborne there would have been no way of stopping it from striking trees, tall sturdy trees that grew on the hillside. Steve drove slowly so that House could get a good look.

"She's not a bad person." Steve's voice dropped off. "In fact, she was the best thing that ever happened to Keith—until that night. He was lonely, drunk a lot of the time, too bright, too good at what he did for his own good. He was successful in his business, not so much with relationships. People enjoyed being around him, but he found most people boring…until he met her. She gave him a run for his money." Steve smiled to himself.

House spoke up, "I found out that she had the flu, shouldn't have gone out after him. Her fever was pretty high when the paramedics arrived. Her reflexes wouldn't have been very good that night. Her attempt to be a good wife ended up killing them…and killing her."

"You like her don't you?"

House shrugged. "I didn't want to, I wanted to hate her, punish her, but no one has to punish her; she's doing a good job at that herself."

Steve dropped House off and, after making sandwiches and having lunch with House, he took off for the hospital. House went straight to bed and was still asleep when Kate got home.

Walking into the guest room, she looked down at him; he was asleep on top of the bed with a throw over him to keep the chill off. His arms were well defined from some sort of weight training, quite masculine in their form. His legs, draped by the brown and red plaid throw, were long; his thin stocking feet were sticking out. He was attractive even though his faced was deeply etched with the daily grind of his pain. She liked the dark gray underneath the silver gray hair that covered his head. Kate wondered what he looked like before the infarction…before the pain had etched his face. She wondered about the women he had loved and why he was now alone.

"Greg? Greg?" She felt the firm muscle of his upper arm as she shook him awake.

House snorted slightly and then looked up at her.

"I'm home. Are you sure you're up to going tonight?"

Sitting up he took a deep breath and answered, "Yeah."

"I'm going up to get ready. It's a little past five. I'll be down by six, okay?"

He nodded.

By six, House was in the living room, groomed and ready to go. The tux was slightly big on him through the chest and the legs were a little longer than he usually wore, but overall, it fit. He stood by the dying fire as he waited for her to come down the stairs. When she appeared at the top of the stairs, he was disappointed; she was already covered up in a thick black velvet coat and gloves. However, he did get a good look at the shape of her legs from the knees down. They were thin and curvy, very sexy from thigh to her feet which were framed by three inch black velvet heels.

"Nice gams."

She looked down at her legs and chuckled. "Thank you kind sir. How are you feeling?"

"Better, rested. I don't know how long I'll last tonight."

"I have to admit, I'm happy you're going. It gives me an excuse to bow out of there after dinner."

"I'm just a pawn in your game."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her keys, leading the way out the door. House laughed as she slowly picked her way across the snow in her heels, finally reaching the SUV cursing. The velvet heels were wet so once inside, she took them off and placed them in his lap.

"Hold those up to the vents as we drive."

"Boy, now I'm not only your excuse, I'm your slave."

"Isn't it nice to be useful for once in your life?"

"Touché!"

They needled each other all the way down the mountain, laughing at each other's digs and stories of Christmas parties gone wrong. Arriving at the hotel where the party was being held, Kate pulled up and let House out so that he didn't have to traverse the parking lot. Ten minutes later, she joined him in the lobby. They went to the coat check and House removed his jacket, turned around and saw Kate standing, coatless, in a red strapless dress made of organza silk that draped on the bias in flounces. Her neck was bare, but he now noticed that she had beautiful garnet earrings that dangled gently half way between her shoulders and her ears. Her lips were glazed with a deep red and her eyes were swept in a smoky eye shadow and black mascara.

He whistled. She blushed.

"Wow, you're almost beautiful."

Tilting her head, she asked, "Almost?"

"You're too skinny. Honestly. You need more meat on your bones."

"I've gained a pound since you've been here!"

"Where?"

"Ha, ha. Let's go in, it's a free bar…well, not free, the tickets are $40 each."

"So I owe you $40?"

"Don't be ludicrous."

"If I were Ludicrous, I'd be in Las Vegas with several ho's." House teased.

Frowning, she motioned for him to join her. Opening the doors to the ballroom, they both blinked when they saw the decorations. There was silver everywhere with a touch of red and green metallics. The ceiling above the entrance and over the dance floor was filled with helium balloons, mostly silver with some red and green. Each balloon had a silver metallic ribbon that dangled down just above the head of the crowd, giving the impression that you were walking through a fringe of silver grass. The Christmas tree was an eighteen foot blue spruce cut from one of the doctor's property. It was decorated in the same theme of silver with some green and red accents.

"Pretty impressive for the backwoods." House said out of the side of his mouth.

"They let Marla do the decorating this year. I think they need to let her do it each year, this is very pretty. I need to find her and let her know."

As they walked through the crowd, people stared at House, some did double takes. It was only later that one drunk doctor in the line at the bar let it slip that everyone was not only shocked that Kate had shown up with a date, but that she brought Keith's ghost with her.

House played the dutiful date, smiling and spewing the necessary drivel to keep everyone happy. Kate was shocked that he was being so well behaved in light of his reputation. But, he knew this was choppy water for her. Going out in public with a man on her arms (metaphorically) was a big step and he didn't want to screw it up for her.

Dinner wasn't as bad as she had promised. Both of them were surprised as to how tasty the fish was and even the desert was a delicious version of a Christmas pudding. The conversation at their table centered on House who was a celebrity in the medical field. Kate smiled to herself; House reveled in the adoration and curiosity. He was clearly invigorated by the questions and comments directed at and about him. Kate had hoped to slink away after dinner, but she didn't have the heart to drag House from his fans. Standing up, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. As she moved away from the table, House turned around in his chair to watch her walk, noticing how lovely and inviting she looked from behind, her hair up on her head, the dress revealing her slender shoulders, her waist nipped in and her ass just round enough. There was no doubt in his mind that with another ten pounds on that frame she'd be just what he liked.

"She's hot, isn't she?" The male voice from his left asserted.

House turned and looked at him. "Yeah, she is."

"She hasn't looked this good for a long time," remarked Dr. Ellen Smith, a brunette with a little too much meat on her small bones. "How long have you two been dating?"

House shook his head. "We haven't. I'm just here to donate stem cells for my nephew, Daniel."

"Daniel's your nephew?" The man asked, slightly surprised. "Sorry, I should have introduced myself, I'm a friend of Kate's, Robert Polenta. I'm a Hematologist at the hospital."

"Yes, he's my nephew."

"So, you're Keith's brother?"

"Half-brother."

There was a collective "ah's" from around the table. House raised an eyebrow as if to ask why they were making that sound.

Ellen leaned in. "You look so much like Keith, we were afraid that she had latched onto you because she couldn't let go of Keith. But, since you're not together, I think we're all sighing with relief."

House rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You don't think she could be interested in me because I'm so irresistible?"

There were some guilty looks around the table.

"Sure, that's possible." Ellen said as the others nodded. "But you have to understand, we have been very worried about her. We're afraid that if Daniel doesn't make it, there will be nothing for her to live for." There were more affirmative head nods.

"Well, I think there's something that might make her stick around,"

"What?" Robert asked

"Something." House answered with a sly grin.

"Something, what?" Kate asked behind him.

House turned. "We were just talking about you and how much nicer you'd look in that dress if you'd eat."

"Eat what?"

"Something, anything. But, I know something you could start with." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Kate blushed as she took her seat. The D.J. put on the first record, _Celebrate._ No one got up to dance the first dance.

House asked out loud. "Why is the first dance always a throw-away? No one ever dances to it."

"Who knows? Well, now that the music has started, do you want to go?" She asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "One dance, we'll dance the next one and then go."

"Okay, but what if it's a fast one?"

"They never follow the first fast one with another fast one. It will be slow, but if it isn't, I can still get my groove on."

She grinned.

The song ended and House stood, putting his hand out to Kate as they waited for the next one to start. The DJ gave House a little nod and then started the record House had asked him to play. The fact that they were the only couple standing made Kate uneasy.

"Maybe we should sit—"

The music began and House pulled her the last few steps to the dance floor. His cane was still resting against his chair so he made no quick moves. The strains of Elvis Presley singing, _Can't Help Falling In Love_ started and Kate felt his warm long arm slip around her waist, pulling her into his body. The fact that the song had always been one of Kate's favorites made her wonder if this was a sign from Keith. House purposefully held her close to his body, closer than friends normally dance. She was tense, unsure of what he was doing or why.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you."

Her voice cracking; she looked up and stared purposefully in his eyes. "Are you sure you can promise that?"

He thought about it. "I'll try not to. I guess that's the best that I can do."

She offered him a weak smile. "You're a good man, Greg."

"No, I'm not."

"You don't give yourself credit where it's due. You may not be touchy-feely, but I'd rather be around someone who was forthright than charming."

He snickered. "I'm not charming?"

"You were tonight at that table. You had them all eating out of your hand."

"Everyone except you."

"I'm sorry. It's hard to go to these things. Everyone wants to take my emotional temperature and it only makes me feel worse."

"Let me see. I'd say your temperature is hot…at least I think you're hot."

Her eyes fluttered and she looked down. "Greg!"

"Look, you're a widow; you're not a eunuch. You can't help that you're gorgeous."

"Just shut up and keep dancing."

They had been alone on the dance floor for several stanzas and the focus of everyone in the room, but soon they were joined by other couples and Kate began to relax, letting her body melt into his. Her head on his chest, she wasn't sure if she was feeling what she thought she was feeling_. Is he getting excited?_

Kate was both shocked and flattered that something was stirring. House didn't try to hide it or apologize. He wanted her to know that he found her to be a sexual being, not just the object of pity and sympathy. She tried to pull away slightly, to stop the friction of her body against his, but he held her tighter. Unless she wanted to dance with her butt sticking out, away from him, she was forced to deal with the thickness in his trousers.

"Greg," she whispered, "Maybe we should sit down."

"Not until the song is over."

Looking up, she found his eyes and was moved by the tenderness in them. She had expected amusement, but he looked as if he wanted to kiss her. His eyes fixed on her lips, his body slowing down. Taking a deep breath, she pulled away as the song ended and ran back to the table, not bothering to help him cover what was going on in his pants.

"I think we're going to get going. Greg's tired from the harvesting the other day. Merry Christmas everyone." She said as she grabbed her purse and the party favor, a Christmas ornament.

House walked up behind her.

"Merry Christmas." Came a chorus of well-wishes from the table. Several stood up and shook House's hand.

They walked out to the lobby where House excused himself to use the restroom.

Kate walked over to the end of the hall where there was no one to disturb her. She looked out at the ocean which was softly lit by a full moon which danced in and out of the high clouds. It made here wonder if there really was an afterlife. As a Catholic, she was taught to believe, but the accident had shaken her belief in a lot of things. She hoped that there was and she hoped that Keith was with Maxie, taking care of each other. Completely absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't hear him come up behind her. Slipping his arms around her, he pulled her back and put his chin on the crown of her head as they both stared out the window.

She didn't try to escape, being held in his arms felt natural, as f they should be around her.

"You smell good." He said, the smell of her perfume mingling with the botanicals of her hair shampoo.

"So do you."

They stood for a few minutes and then she turned around in his arms. "Shall we go?"

House was having a hard time controlling the need in his loins. His hand slid over her cheek and his fingertips passed over her lips. Both his hands cupped her petite, freckled face as he leaned in, his lips finding hers. Kate closed her eyes and let his open mouth cover hers. Their tongues mingled as House slipped his hand around, gently landing on her ass. Kate pulled his neck down, her mouth and tongue becoming more passionate. It was a gentle cough behind them that brought them both up for air.

"Dr. Monaghan? You have a call from the hospital."

Kate pulled back and reached into her purse. She had forgotten to turn on her phone. Running to the front desk, she took the phone at a side table. House watched, worried that something had happened to Daniel. When he saw her face relax, so did House. He walked over and retrieved their coats.

He took her coat over and waited until she hung up.

"I forgot to leave the dosing orders for a patient. It was the resident; he's new to Oncology and wanted to make sure I was okay with what he prescribed."

"Daniel?" House asked.

"I asked and he's sleeping comfortably, no fever."

"Great."

They walked out to the car in silence. Once inside the cab, House wasn't sure what he should say. It was Kate who broke the silence.

"Greg, I don't think it's a good idea for us to…well, you know."

"Have sex?"

"That and whatever that might lead to."

"More sex?"

She sighed. "So, that's all it is? You just want sex?"

"Don't you?"

She giggled nervously. "It's been awhile, but I was never much for _just_ having sex."

"It's a great release."

She laughed again. "Yes, it is, but I associate sex with an emotional response too."

"So you don't have an emotional response to me?"

They were well on their way up Route 26. Kate was quiet, trying to compose the appropriate response. "Of course I do. You're Keith's brother, Daniel's savior and, I hope, my friend."

"Great….the, 'I love you like a brother' excuse."

She laughed out loud. "Oh, I don't really love you like a brother, I just acknowledge that you're the brother of my dead husband. I take it that you don't want to be treated like a brother-in-law?"

"Not really. Having sex with my sister—"

"In-law."

"—isn't my idea of creating a romantic atmosphere."

"I have to admit, when you put it that way…that you're my _brother_-in-law, it makes the thought of having sex with you very unappealing."

"Great." He said, disappointed.

"My thoughts are all over the place. But, it's probably better that we just keep it platonic."

House said nothing, but he knew from her hesitation and the fact that she had even considered sex, that he had a window of opportunity and whether she knew it or not, he was going to take advantage of it.

The side roads had all been plowed and sanded and the full moon was helping to illuminate their way, making House feel more comfortable when they passed the point where Keith had died. He looked over at her and noticed that she didn't slow or look, having reached a bargain with herself to always keep her eyes on the road at that point in the road.

At home, she again picked her way through the frozen layers of snow. Entering the house, she turned on the light, played with the thermostat and then took off her coat. Running to the fireplace, she stoked the embers and began piling logs on the fire until there was a nice blaze.

As she stood there rubbing her arms she finally shook her head at him. "I guess I shouldn't let the temperature in the house drop into the low fifties, but it seems such a waste to heat up this big house when no one is here."

House was already out of the tuxedo coat and starting to unbutton his cuffs. He rolled the sleeves up and then loosened his bowtie before unbuttoning his collar. Watching him undress, she could feel her body flush.

Despite her voice being hoarse from her desire, she managed to eek out, "Well, I guess I'll go up—"

House's long fingers wrapped around her wrist as he snapped her into his arms and embraced her. Looking down he let her know with one look how this night was going to end. She felt lightheaded, unsure that she could stay on her feet. He seemed to understand because he slowly lowered her to the wool rug in front of the hearth and lay down beside her.

"Please, please be gentle."

"I will be."

Eyes closed, she felt her zipper slide down her back and his warm hand slip under the material of her dress, resting against her skin. His kisses were long and delicious as the long fingers traveled around the front and slipped her dress down from her breasts. Without looking down, he rested his hand just below the curve of her breast. Her mind kept willing him to touch her breast, to fondle it, kiss it, but he concentrated on her mouth, exploring it expertly with his tongue and lips.

She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her breast causing him to chuckle. She giggled back.

"Impatient, are we?"

"I thought you'd never touch it."

"I was just savoring your sweet mouth, but since you insist—" He pulled back and looked down at her breasts, admiring their symmetry and round, pert mounds. "Nice." His mouth found the tip of her nipple. His tongue flicked against it like butterfly wings.

Kate's vagina filled with congestion from the blood rushing in response to his touch. As he continued to gently lick and suck on her breasts, his hand found its way under her skirt to the fleshy part of her thigh. He touched her leg lightly, running his hand up and down the thigh without touching what lay in between. Again she found herself trying to will him to touch her, rub her, make her squirm, but he continued to tease her with his sucking and gentle touch. Kate decided that it was time to attack his wardrobe. She began tugging at the button on his trousers, becoming frustrated with it when it didn't go through the buttonhole easily.

House stopped for a second and pushed the button through for her. Kate turned her concentration to the zipper, pulling it down in one quick motion. Her hand slipped inside and she was pleased to find House hard and ready. In some ways it calmed some of her anxiety to discover that he was as excited as her. Just as she touched him, he brought his hand up between her thighs and slipped it under her panties, finding the lips to her sex. Parting them, he grinned, she wasn't just wet, she was sopping wet. In one move, he pulled the panties down and had almost negotiated them over her knees when they ripped.

"Crap. Sorry."

Kate didn't care; she wanted the damn things off. "It's fine."

"Take that damn dress off." He ordered.

She pulled it down revealing her naked body. House stopped to admire her body in the light of the fire. The golden tone of the fire lit up her body, the light dancing on her curves.

"You're beautiful."

"Thank you."

He kicked his shoes off and then pulled off his socks and trouser. Kate looked up at his throbbing stiff member sticking through his boxers and then down to the massive scar on his thigh. She had seen it before, but this was the first time she'd gotten a good look this close. Her heart went out to him, the scar was angry and ugly. His hand went reflexively to shield it from view.

Sitting up on one arm, she pulled his hand away and shook her head. "It's fine."

House pulled his boxers down, dropped back down to the floor and spread her legs with the palm of his hand. "God, you're so wet"

"Yes, I know. So are you going to continued to take my temperature or are we going to do something about it?"

"Whoa, you _are_ impatient."

"It's been over two years. Still, I don't know why I'm so hot to trot."

"Probably because I'm so damn handsome" He said as he slipped his arm under the crook of her knee and rolled on top of her, entering her with such a force that she gasped.

"Oh!" It was both exciting and painful as he slammed up against her cervix.

"Are you alright?"

She looked into his blue eyes and smiled. "I'm fine." To emphasize it, she bucked up and down, pumping him several times, making him moan, his mouth open gasping for breath inbetween the electrical jolts of her moves. Finally, he gasped and shook his head to let her know she better slow down.

Now it was his turn; he began to slowly slide in and out while his gaze fixed on her. Up close, she had more freckles than he thought. They were sprinkled over the thin nose and up her cheeks and across her forehead like a little, vulnerable, girl. Her eyes weren't just gray; there was a light blue speckle mixed in with the gray and a tiny bit of green around her pupil. Her lips were half the size of Angelina Jolie's, but they were the perfect shape for her petite face. It wasn't just her face that he liked, it was the cut of her clavicle and the curve of her breast as it swelled up, capped by the pink nipples. For having had a child, she was extremely tight. Even though he deliberately slowed down, the friction was too much; he knew he wasn't going to last very long unless he did something different.

Pulling out, he flipped her over so that he couldn't see those eyes, those perky breasts. He entered her again, from behind with the full weight of his body on her back. She collapsed down to the ground with him inside. Pulling her arms out from her body, he pinned her down and began to thrust. Kate could feel the weight of his whole body holding her down, keeping her from moving while he pumped away.

House felt her try to move, to pull her arms back, but he didn't let her. He didn't want her to move, her movements would only make it harder for him to hold back his orgasm. But now her resistance and his dominance was creating as much excitement in him as the friction did earlier. Not wanting to come so quickly, he tried not to think about her, but the softness of her skin under his and the pressing of her bones into his body made it impossible not to think about how much he was enjoying this, how much he wanted her. The heaviness of his balls released and his mind flashed as every electron fired in his groin. He could feel the release over and over.

Kate was still pinned to the floor, but she knew he was coming by the short strokes and quick breaths that stopped and started with each thrust. When he was done he rolled off to the side, breathing hard and fast. Kate wasn't sure if it was over or not, but she hoped he would remember that she hadn't come. She turned over and was soon pleased to find that he hadn't forgotten her.

House slipped his hand between her legs, finding her clit and rubbing it. He sat up slightly and angled himself to watch her climax, her body writhing under the friction of his hand and fingers. Before long, she was screaming out, every muscle in her womb contracting as the orgasm wracked her body for almost a full minute. When she was done she looked up and found him grinning.

"Your nipples are hard and your entire body is flushed."

She furrowed her brow inquisitively. "That's normal."

"Yeah, if you have a real orgasm…_that_ was a _real _orgasm."

She laughed out loud. "Oh, Greg, I'm not going to fake it for you…I don't fake it—ever."

"Good to know."

Kate started to get up, but House grabbed her and held her.

"Just wait. Let's enjoy this before you break the spell."

"You want to cuddle?"

"I want to enjoy looking at you, holding you, touching you. Is that so painful?"

"No, it's just more romantic than I expected."

House had to agree; on occasion he liked to cuddle, but not usually on the floor. He'd rather take her into the bedroom but he needed her to stay still for a few minutes so he put his head back down and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm not so sure we should have done this." She finally admitted.

"You sound like a broken record. We're two consenting adults with bitchin' bodies…well at least mine is bitchin'."

"What is Daniel going to say? Steve?"

"Were you planning on taking out a billboard to announce that you fucked Greg House?"

"It's not that, I just hate keeping secrets."

"You always tell them who you sleep with?"

"No, I mean, it seems swarmy to sleep with you and not say something. What if they found out?"

"They'll only find out what you tell them. Come on; let's take this into the bedroom." House let her get up and then extended a hand so that she could help him up. Once on his feet, Kate picked up the clothes and took them into the bedroom, laying them on a chair before disappearing into the bathroom.

Standing at the washstand, she felt the semen running down her leg and it hit her-they hadn't used protection. What was she thinking? Allowing herself to be caught up in the excitement of love making wasn't unusual. She and Keith had stopped using protection the last year, hoping that she'd get pregnant again. She hadn't and it was unlikely she'd get pregnant with Greg, but still it was stupid to take chances.

When she crawled back into bed with Greg, she stroked the hair on his chest. "I'm going to need the morning after pill."

"Why?"

She let out a short laugh of disbelief. "I'm probably ovulating."

"Yeah, probably. But at your age, the likelihood that you'll get pregnant isn't very high. I wouldn't take those odds in Vegas."

She relaxed a little, "You're probably right. Keith and I weren't having any luck the last year that he was alive. We were going commando, but I wasn't getting pregnant."

"Then relax, we'll be okay."

"You're the doctor."

House woke up a few hours later and was more than proud to discover the hard erection between his legs. _Two woodies in three hours! Woot, woot!_ Kissing her shoulder, he began to search for her clit. Finding her slit, he slipped a finger inside and rubbed until Kate started to stir.

"Oh, God, don't stop." She moaned.

He didn't until she started pumping up against his hand. He almost laughed out loud when she started to scream out his name. Again, her orgasm lasted longer than average. He wondered if she was always like this. It was actually a turn on, a woman who could ride a hot orgasm for a long time always made him harder. As soon as she was done, he entered her and rode her missionary, this time letting her move under him. It took longer this time, but he wasn't complaining, the orgasm felt just as good and as he looked into her kind eyes he yearned for that emotional connection that she had talked about.

She said nothing about him not using a condom. She had no protection in the house anyway. Her diaphragm had become discolored and flaky from sitting for years in its little cover so she had thrown it away. Keith had never used condoms, so she had none to give House. Kate was enjoying the sex and since House was leaving in twenty-four hours, she was pretty sure she could pick up a prescription for the morning after pill in Portland after she dropped House off at the airport. Now that she had a plan, she leaned back and enjoyed every ounce of his ejaculation.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Sunday**

When he woke, he turned over and discovered an empty bed. House thought about the night before and sighed with satisfaction. The sex had been just as good as he had expected and he was feeling quite pleased with himself. Even Kate seemed to be enjoying it as much as he did. So where was she?

Throwing the covers back, House leaned over for his cane and made his way out to a quiet living room. The fire was lit again, so where was she? Then he realized that she was probably out milking the cows and feeding the animals. Not wanting tea, he found the makings for coffee and started the coffee maker. By the time Kate made it back inside, blowing warm air on her cold hands, he had started breakfast.

"Eggs Benedict and French Toast okay with you?" He asked.

"I have some sausage in the freezer I could thaw."

House shook his head. "I don't need it unless you do?"

"Nope, I'm fine. I love a good Hollendaise."

They sat and ate breakfast, laughing and tossing food at each other, getting syrup in each other's hair.

"Shower?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah. I love shower sex."

She pulled back and laughed. "I was thinking that we might want to get the syrup out of our hair."

"I was thinking we could lick that off. So, no shower sex?"

"You're up for more sex?" She asked, sounding somewhat surprised

"I'm over fifty, I'm not dead. Besides, I just took a little blue pill."

"Viagra?"

"Yep, Houston, we have lift off. I still had some in my toilet bag from the last convention."

"You're not going to waste one minute today are you?"

"You bet. I haven't had free sex for almost a year. Not since I broke up with my girlfriend."

"So that's what this is? Free sex?"

"Unless you want me to leave a tip."

"No, I just mean…after today…we're just Facebook buddies?"

"I don't do Facebook."

"You know what I mean."

He looked down, unable to meet her wide eyes. "Look, I live in Princeton. I'll always live in Princeton. Do you really want me to promise more than a day of free sex?"

"I get your drift." She tried to say it with as little inflection as possible, but her voice caught.

House felt guilty. If his plan worked, she wouldn't mind that it was a weekend of passion without strings. If it didn't, he'd feel crappy, like he'd used her. _Hell, she's using me too._

Kate took a deep breath. House was right. She didn't need promises that he couldn't keep. This wasn't permanent, but it was the first thing that had felt good in a long time. It was the first time that she had felt alive since the accident. Maybe she'd crash on Monday, but today she was going to enjoy it.

After a lot of fondling in the shower, House took Kate from behind, enjoying the view from behind while he stood at the bottom of the bed. His hands grasping her hips as he moved inside of her They both wrapped themselves in terry robes and went downstairs, putting on the Godfather trilogy and making love on the sofa between episodes two and three

After catching their breath, House finally surrendered. "That was a little weak. I think little Greg is waving the white flag."

"Good because I'm getting a little raw."

They both started laughing.

"So much for my Viagra."

"Hey, you were very impressive."

"So were you."

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms as the Godfather III rolled across the screen. A few minutes into the movie, Kate squeezed his arm affectionately. House squeezed back. He was going to miss her. The more he knew her, the more he liked her…really liked her. It was going to be hard to say goodbye.

After a late supper, they climbed into bed for the last time and kissed without making love. There were no words that passed between them, they simply held on to each other until sleep overtook them.

**Sorry for the short chapter...will try to give you more later, having computer trouble.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Monday**

**Portland Blues**

House woke up to find her missing once again, probably out with the animals. He took a shower and packed the rest of his clothes before taking his luggage out to the living room. Coffee on, he grabbed a bowl and found some cereal in the cupboard. Kate appeared a few minutes later smiling.

"More snow, but the roads are okay. I can't believe how much snow we're getting this early in the season."

House nodded, but said nothing. Everything went quiet. Kate didn't try to eat; she knew her stomach was too upset from the emotions she was feeling. Half an hour later they were on their way to Portland. As the car traveled through the forest, House drank in the sights as if he was never going to see a forest again. Less than half an hour later, they crested over the mountain and House could see the city of Portland in the foreground. The river was gray and murky today, reflecting the gray sky above them. By the time they got to the airport it was raining.

"Be careful going back up the mountain. With this rain, it will freeze into ice." House warned.

"Yes, dear." Kate said sarcastically.

House opened the back door and pulled his suitcase from the back. Closing the doors to the front and back, he looked in through the window which Kate had rolled down. She was a little upset that he had exited without a hug or a kiss.

"Well, let me know how Daniel's doing. If you're ever in Princeton, stop by. I'll show you around."

Kate nodded, the tears starting to well up. "I will. You be good, try not to get into too much trouble."

He nodded back and then stepped up on the curb. Kate waved as she drove off into the airport traffic. House watched her disappear around the curve. _I should have kissed her goodbye._

Kate drove straight to the hospital to check on Daniel, crying most of the way. At the hospital, she discovered that Daniel was well, but down in the dumps. He complained that House had left just when he was getting to know him. Kate comforted him and encouraged him to make plans to go see him in the summer.

"I think you're going to make a full recovery." She said with confidence. It wasn't a false promise; the counts looked really good.

"What about you, Aunt Kate? Do you think you'll miss him?"

Kate shook her head. "He's kind of like sex on the beach. The sex might be good, but you spend the rest of your holiday picking out the sand from your crack and so you're not so sure it was worth it."

Daniel howled with laughter. "Aunt Kate!"

"Okay, I have to admit, I eventually enjoyed having him around."

"I did too."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**March**

Wilson sat at the bar watching the golf game on the flat screen that hung down next to a sign advertising _Sauza Tequila_. House was late, as usual, forty-five minutes late. Wilson had just finished his drink and was counting out a tip when House slid onto the barstool next to him.

"About time."

"Patient went into v-fib just as I was leaving."

The bartender came over and asked for their drink order. They both ordered gin and tonics, Bombay Sapphire.

"What's up with Cuddy?" Wilson asked.

House shrugged. "I'm not sure. She showed up tipsy at my place two weeks ago begging for my body. I obliged and when she woke up the next morning she blamed me for seducing her. Eventually I convinced her that it had been her idea and she finally agreed that maybe we could be _friends with benefits._ She comes over every two to three days, we do the horizontal mambo and she leaves…sometimes."

Wilson's eyes grew wide as House told his story. "House, there's no way in hell the two of you can have sex and it not mean something. Even if it only means that the two of you have a new weapon in your arsenal at work."

"Hey, free sex, dude. I'd be a fool not to agree. Have you seen Cuddy's body?"

"Yeah, well the last time you had free sex, you moped for a month."

"I didn't mope; I was recovering from donating stem cells."

"Right…you just keep believing that. Have you heard from her?"

"Just the obligatory email asking about my health and letting me know that Daniel is still in remission and back in school."

"Nothing else?"

He shook his head. "I made it pretty clear to her that I was just after the sex."

"Were you?"

"You don't see me on a plane back to Oregon do you?"

"You haven't had any vacation time left."

"You have a point."

"Look, I don't see this _friends with benefits_ ending well with Cuddy. I think she still has feelings for you. And you still have feelings for her. But remember, having feelings doesn't mean you should be together. You two have been there, tried that and it ended up being a disaster."

"Relationships aren't my forte, sex is and Cuddy knows that, we're cool."

"Great, you've been reduced to a living vibrator."

"Better that than a butt plug."

Wilson laughed and lifted his glass.

"Are you going home, or staying?"

Cuddy turned over in the bed and gave him a quick smile. "Rachel is on a sleepover. I don't have to pick her up until ten tomorrow."

"Great, morning sex."

"My feelings exactly." Cuddy swallowed hard and finally said, "House, maybe we ought to talk about what we're doing here."

"Oh, crap. I thought we were having free sex between two consenting adults. Does this mean you're going to start charging?"

"Funny. No, but this is the third time this week."

"I'm not complaining."

"We seem to be getting along."

"Yeah, we always get along- _in bed_."

Cuddy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "We've been getting along at work too."

"That's because you stopped expecting the truth."

"I learned the truth may not be all that necessary when dealing with you."

"Shame that you learned that now."

"In some areas I'm considered a slow learner." Cuddy lifted her head up and smiled. "Is that someone at your door?"

House listened and finally heard the half-hearted knocking. "Yeah. If we ignore it, they'll go away."

"House, it's pouring rain out there, it's not going to be a salesman. It has to be someone who knows you."

"Gee Watson, when did you become such a sleuth?"

House got up, grabbed a robe and belted it as he walked out to the living room. The knocking increased in volume. "Yeah, I hear you. I'm coming." He continued to the door without his cane. Opening the door he jerked at the sight of her.

"Jesus!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." She looked at the robe. "Is this a bad time?"

"Uh, kinda."

"Oh, okay. Gosh, I'm sorry." Kate, her hair plastered to her head from the rain, turned to leave, pulling her suitcase behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "You said that if I was ever in Princeton, I could look you up and you'd show me around."

"I thought you might call first."

She nodded and shrugged. "I flew out for a conference in Philadelphia, but it ended early –Legionaire's disease in the hotel. My flight is Sunday afternoon. I thought…well, it doesn't matter." She gave him a sad smile and exited the building.

He was conflicted. It was crappy timing, but he was surprised by how excited he was to see her. Hobbling as fast as he could, he followed her out into the rain.

"Kate!"

She turned. "What?"

"Are you staying somewhere?"

She laughed, the water pouring down her face. "I wouldn't be dragging my suitcase around if I had a place to stay."

"House?" They both turned to look at Cuddy who was standing in House's raincoat with an umbrella. Cuddy stared at the two of them. "It's raining, you're soaked. Are you coming back inside?"

House looked at Kate and could see the light go out in her eyes. She hit the remote and opened the car, throwing her suitcase in the back. He couldn't see her face, but her shoulders were heaving up and down. Turning to Cuddy, he tried to read her and found it was much easier than reading Kate…she was pissed.

The car pulled away and House stood, watching as she drove out of sight. When he started back towards the apartment, he noted that Cuddy had already gone back inside.

House braced himself and limped into the living room. As soon as the door closed he found her standing with a towel. He took it and started to dry himself off.

"Who was that?" Her voice was controlled meaning she was really angry.

"Kate Monaghan, my sister-in-law."

Her body relaxed. "Sister-in-law?"

"The one married to my half-brother, the brother that died in the auto accident."

"Oh. Why didn't you invite her in?"

"Free sex is free sex." He said.

"Is she staying in Princeton?"

"She was in Philly, but thought she'd drive up to see me before flying back."

"_In this rain? Is she crazy?"_

He laughed. "This rain is nothing compared to what she drives in at home. It rains and snows a lot out there."

"But, didn't you want to see her?"

House suddenly felt tired, tired of holding back, but he still didn't have the courage to say anything to Cuddy about his time with Kate. "Sure, but I didn't want to cut into our time."

"Get dry and come back to bed."

House did what he was told, but when Cuddy started making moves, diving under the covers to arouse him, nothing happened.

She pulled up, pushing the covers back. "House? What's going on? Usually you're back in the saddle by now."

"I'm feeling a little under the weather."

"Does this have anything to do with sending away your sister-in-law?"

"Technically, she's no longer my sister-in-law since she's no longer married to my brother."

"Fine, does this have something to do with her?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good."

House narrowed his eyes. "Good?"

"It means you have a conscience. You just sent a woman who drove an hour in the pouring rain to see you back out into the storm. You should feel guilty. Why don't you call her and invite her back? We could take her out to dinner."

House's heart started racing at the idea of Cuddy grilling Kate. "You know, I really am feeling sick. Maybe it's not a good idea for anyone to be around me right now."

She looked at him suspiciously, "You want me to leave?"

"Sorry. I need sleep…lots of it. And you snore."

"I do not."

He shrugged. "Like a chain saw."

Huffing and puffing, Cuddy grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom. A few minutes later she was out the door. House grabbed his cell phone and dialed Kate's cell phone, but there was no answer. After Cuddy left, he tried several times, but no response. Cursing, he started calling all the hotels in town, but she wasn't registered in Princeton. He went online to try and find the hotel where there had been a medical convention but found nothing. He Googled for news of a Legionnaire's outbreak, but there was none. He finally left a voice mail on her cell phone.

"Look, I'm sorry, you caught me off guard. I'm alone now, please come back; I'd really like to see you."

But there was no response.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Early June**

"So what does he look like?" Wilson asked.

"Like me, but 18."

Wilson kept watching for a young House to show up and he wasn't disappointed. A tall, lanky kid with reddish brown hair, cobalt blue eyes and brand new sneakers stood in the middle of the airport lobby looking around.

"House, over there."

House turned, spotted Daniel and waved his cane. "Dude!"

Daniel saw them and grinned. "Uncle Greg." An arm went around House much to Wilson's amusement. House didn't exactly hug back, but he reluctantly patted Daniel on his back.

"Is this all you have?" House asked.

Daniel stood with a backpack and a standard black carry-on suitcase. "Yeah, Dad didn't want to pay the luggage fees and since I'm only here a week Mom said I could find a Laundromat and do my clothes on Tuesday or Wednesday. "Hi, I'm Daniel Huntington." Daniel stuck his hand out to shake Wilson's hand.

"James Wilson, House's friend."

Daniel nodded.

"Let's get out of here." House said.

On the way back to Princeton, Wilson took a detour through the Princeton campus to show Daniel.

"Wow, it's pretty impressive!"

"It sure is. So you want to do physics?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah, I did, but I'm thinking maybe medicine. You know, Aunt Kate and Uncle Greg are really smart and they're doctors. I think I know a few things about hospital and medicine. I might go into Oncology."

"Wilson's the head of Oncology at PPTH."

"Really?"

House nodded, "Really."

"That's cool."

"Your Aunt Kate, she's head of Oncology too, right?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah. She was a wiz kid at Cedar's Sinai, but when she married my uncle she moved up north and they made her head of Oncology at Seaside. They're going to open a whole wing of the hospital devoted to Oncology because she's so good. She's even consulting in Portland. They're sending their really hard cases over to her. Well, they were. Right now she's cutting back because of the baby."

There was dead silence.

"Baby?" Wilson said as casually as he could.

"Yeah, she's due at the end of next month."

"Really? How is she doing?" Wilson asked, noting that House didn't appear to be surprised.

"Really well." Daniel leaned forward, resting his arms on the front seat to talk to them. "Uncle Greg, you wouldn't believe it, but she's happier. I've heard her laugh more in the last few months than in the last three years."

"So she has a boyfriend?" House asked.

"Not that I know of."

"Who's the proud papa?" House ventured.

"She says it was IVF, but my money's on you." Daniel delivered it without any inflection in his voice.

House's blood drained from his face.

Wilson's head swiveled, eyes bulging. "House?"

"How would I know?" House then turned and looked at Daniel. "Why do you think—"

"I did the math."

House swallowed hard even though he wasn't surprised. He knew she was ovulating and he knew that the only thing that would make Kate want to stay off the booze and live—really live—was another child. It was his way of making amends for ignoring Keith all those years. The chances of her getting pregnant had been, at best, twenty percent. But he also knew that if she did get pregnant she'd raise the child on her own and wouldn't expect him to be involved. But now he wondered about the strange appearance in March. He'd been unable to find a medical convention within two hundred miles listed for that weekend. She'd lied. It was clear now that she had purposefully made the trip to see him, probably to tell him about the baby. Why? What did she want from him?

"If she says it was IVF, then it was IVF. I admit we had sex…once, but we used protection. The likelihood that a woman in her late thirties got pregnant after having protected sex on one day is pretty low."

"But not impossible." Wilson added, resulting in House giving him the evil eye.

"I agree." Daniel chimed in. "I guess we'll know when he's born. If he has the Huntington eyes, then I'd say 'game over.'"

"He?" House asked.

Daniel grinned and chirped, "Yeah, it's a boy. A _son._"

House growled, "Are you done?"

"House, what if he's right?" Wilson asked.

"He's _not!"_

"Okay, for the sake of argument, what if he's right?"

"So?"

"You'll have a son. Won't you want to be a part of his life?"

"Why? Kate's very self-sufficient; I'm sure she'll do just fine on her own."

Daniel shook his head. "Bull shit. You're going to be too curious. A little House on this planet is going to be too enticing. You're going to insert yourself in his life someway."

Wilson started laughing. "I like this kid."

House sneered at both of them.

Later that night, after Daniel had bedded down on the couch, House dialed Oregon. His stomach had butterflies and he could feel beads of sweat form on his forehead. The phone rang several times on the other end of the line and then someone picked up.

"Hello, Greg."

"Caller I.D.?"

"That and the fact that I knew Daniel wouldn't keep his mouth shut."

"So, who's the Daddy?"

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"What does that mean?"

"You have your girlfriend; I'll have the baby. We're both happy."

"She's not my girlfriend. It was just casual sex."

"She looked like the photo for the Dean of Medicine on the hospital website, the one that was your old girlfriend."

"Okay, that _was_ Cuddy, but we tried being _friends with benefits_; it didn't work out. She wanted more and I was over her."

"Sorry."

"So the baby wasn't IVF?"

"Yes, it was. I was just yanking your chain."

"Then why did you fly back to see me?"

"I told you, I was at a medical—"

"There were no medical conventions that week or weekend in Philly. You lied."

"It wasn't a medical convention."

House hesitated. "Okay, but I Googled, there were no reports of Legionaire's disease."

"I don't think they were advertising it."

Another hesitation. "Were you really yanking my chain?"

"Yeah, after you left I realized that life was worth living and a baby made sense."

He wanted to believe her, but his brain was firing on all cylinders. "See, that's House's sexual healing."

"Yeah, it worked." There was a very pregnant pause and then she finally broke the ice. "Greg, honestly, thank you. Your visit did spark something in me."

_Yeah, a baby. _"Why don't you come out and see me?"

"I tried that once…in the pouring rain. Drove several hours back and forth and you didn't even give me the time of day. In fact, you basically said I wasn't expected nor welcomed."

"It was just bad timing, that's all. I didn't know what to do with Cuddy being there."

"Besides, I can't fly anymore. The doctor is a little worried about my blood pressure."

A flutter of concern went through him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…Oh, Greg, I have to go. Talk to you later. Give my love to Daniel, bye." There was a click and she was gone.

He sat on the side of the bed looking at his cell phone as if he could will her to call him again. Completely frustrated, he had no clue where he stood with her_. Is the baby mine? Yeah, probably. Has she really written me off? Yeah, probably. Is that what I want? Yeah, why not? I did a good deed with no strings attached-no diapers, no long nights, no colicky crying, no monthly allotment. It's all good._

He spent the next few days taking Daniel around Princeton and then House had a patient come through the ER. Daniel sat in on the first round robin and was impressed by what he heard. The team kept eyeing him suspiciously since House didn't introduce Daniel to them. House had given Daniel a little script to memorize and at the right moment, after House raised his coffee cup to his lips, Daniel spoke up.

"What about Wilson's Disease?"

Everyone stopped and looked at Daniel.

House nodded. "That would explain all the symptoms. Go check for signs of Wilson's disease."

Taub turned and with great anxiety asked, "Is this an even younger version of Masters?"

"Oh, did I forget to introduce you to my nephew?"

They all looked at each other.

Chase closed one eye and narrowed the other, "You're an only child."

House pursed his lips and shook his head. "No, it turns out that I had two half-brothers. This is my brother Steven's kid. He's going to go to med school here at Princeton."

"And he already knows about Wilson's?" Foreman asked.

"What can I say, genius runs in the family."

For the next few days, House let Daniel follow the team around as they came to a final diagnosis that had nothing to do with Wilson's. Daniel was on a high, loving the excitement of the race against the clock to diagnose the disease.

On the way home from the hospital after the final diagnosis, Daniel was practically jumping in his seat. "Uncle Greg, you rock. That was so sweet when you told the patient that they had to stop sleeping around. I can't wait to become a diagnostician."

House, secretly pleased that Daniel wanted to follow in his path, mentioned, "It's not a recognized specialty, not yet. But it's becoming more popular with the bigger hospitals."

"Cool."

"Well, I get tomorrow off so we can party tonight and sleep in tomorrow. Then we can drive to Philly and spend the day there."

"Okay."

They went to Triumph's where Daniel was allowed to sit at a table near the bar while House drank whiskey. Throwing the keys to Daniels, House belched. "You can drive us home."

"Okay!" Daniel enjoyed being treated like an adult.

Over the next few hours, several working girls stopped by to say hi and share a drink with House. When Daniel took a shine to a young brunette, House made a deal with her. The young lady would offer to show Daniel around the town for an hour and end the tour on a 'happy note.'

House whispered in the young lady's ear, "No intercourse because he doesn't have condoms, just good old fashion head so that he can brag to his buddies."

She nodded and waited for Daniel to return from the bathroom. Two hours later, Daniel was back in the bar looking like he'd just had a cosmic revelation.

"Ready to go home?" House asked, barely able to control his desire to burst out laughing.

"Oh, sure."

Daniel drove them home. When they got out, House was amused by the spring in Daniel's step and glassy eyed look. Once in his bedroom, House looked at the clock and noticed that it was already two-thirty in the morning. He dialed Oregon.

"Hello?" The familiar groggy voice answered.

"Were you asleep?"

"Greg? What are you doing? It's almost midnight."

"Get used to it. Sleep will soon be a thing of the past."

"What do you want?"

"Just preparing you for your future."

"Thanks."

He heard the click and his heart fell into his stomach. Dialing again, the phone rang but went to voice mail. House didn't leave a message, instead he lay back on the bed and thought about his next move—if there was going to be a next move.

Daniel left a few days later, promising House that he'd _Friend _him on Facebook so that they could exchange messages and keep in touch. When he was about to go through security, Daniel turned and quietly said to House. "I'll see you soon. She's worth the hassle and I know you'll want to meet your son."

"He's not mine."

Daniel laughed. "You don't believe that for one minute." And then he disappeared into the line of passengers going through the metal detectors.

House mumbled to himself, "Snot nosed kid."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**August 17th**

On August 167h, House boarded a plane to Portland, Oregon. It had been so last minute that even Wilson didn't know where House had gone, but he had his suspicions. House rented a car at the Portland airport and drove through town to Route 26. Climbing out of the city, it was a very different Oregon that he was seeing now that it was summertime. The green forest, beautiful meadows, clear skies, crisp, clean air, filled his senses. It was the epitome of a tree-hugger's nirvana. After half an hour on 26 he turned off onto the back roads to Kate's cabin. When the cabin came into view he felt his heart go into overdrive. Looking for her SUV, he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw it parked back in the garage, the garage door open.

He knocked on the door and waited. Her voice echoed through the house, "Just a minute!"

Opening the door without checking who it was, Kate's smile fell when she saw House.

"Jesus, you're as big as a house…no pun intended." His eyes settled on the round tummy that hung out like a basketball under her much larger breasts.

"What do you want?"

"I thought I'd come out to see how you, Daniel and Steve are doing."

"I'm fine, thanks. You can scratch me off your list." She started to swing the door closed.

He slammed his hand into the door to keep it open. Kate turned to look at him.

"Greg, I'm fine, enjoy your time with Steve and Daniel. I'm sorry, but I have things to do."

"Like what?"

"None of your fucking business."

"Ouch! I flew all the way here and you're kicking me out?"

"Gee, imagine flying thousands of miles and driving for hours to see someone and they can't even give you the time of day? It's a bummer."

"I'm sorry! I was between a rock and a hard place. I wanted to get rid of Cuddy and be with you, but she's my boss. It would have been worse than putting my balls in a vice and squeezing."

"Now that's a visual I could live with."

"You've gotten mean."

"You've gotten boring. Go to Astoria." She barked.

"Uh, first I need to put my luggage in the guest room."

"No! You can't really believe that you're going to stay with me?"

"Sure, you have the softest bed…and your pillows are nice and fluffy. And by pillows, I think we both know what I mean." He said with an exaggerated wink.

"Stay with Steve, they'll love having you."

"I'm not sure Ann appreciates my humor."

"What makes you think I do?"

"You get me."

"Oh, that's a load of crap. I'm the one who showed up all doey eyed thinking you'd welcome me with open arms only to have you shoo me out into the rain. If I got you, I wouldn't have made the trip."

"So you did come out just to see me."

"I'm not talking about it."

"Why?"

"I'm over it."

"Yeah, that's why every other word out of your mouth is about how you were treated in Princeton."

"I've got to go. Please let yourself out."

She waddled off to the stairs, taking each one slowly as she balanced her weight. House went out to his car and grabbed his luggage, rolling it behind him. He unpacked as quickly as he could and then started up the stairs. Opening her door, he discovered that she wasn't there. The next door over opened to reveal Kate up on a ladder painting the ceiling.

"_What the fuck are you doing?"_

Surprised by his voice, Kate started to wobble and fall back. House grabbed her in time to steady her on the ladder.

"I thought I told you to leave?"

"You're pregnant, about ready to pop and you're on a ladder inhaling paint fumes?"

"It's zero VOC paint… and someone has to do it. The room hasn't been painted in six years."

"Get down from there, I'll do it."

"No you won't. Besides the ceiling's half done…I just have the other half to do."

"If you don't get down from there, I'll tell everyone in the hospital that you and I did the nasty and that's your brother-in-law's kid rolled up in that big tummy of yours."

"You jerk!"

"_Get down!"_

She sighed and then backed down the ladder handing him the roller. House took it and then climbed the ladder to start painting.

Kate yelled up, "Wait, just a second. She pulled a painter's jacket and cap out of the Home Depot bag and handed it to him. He climbed off the ladder and put them on.

Kate watched for a few minutes while House painted the ceiling a nice cream color then she opened a different can, a light melon color. Unwrapping a new roller, she began to paint the walls below the chair rail.

"Why don't you go put those swollen ankles up?" House asked.

"Because I just want to get this done and get you out as soon as possible."

They painted together and when House was done with the ceiling, Kate told him that the upper half of the walls were going to be the same crème as the ceiling. He nodded and began painting again.

"It looks like the baby's riding pretty low."

"He is. He's dropped. Jason thinks I'm going to give birth sometime this week."

"Wow." He rolled a few swipes and then said nonchalantly, "Pregnancy suits you. You've gotten your sass back. Now why don't you tell me about the baby?"

"The baby? It's got two legs, two eyes, two—"

"The truth- this baby's going to come out with big blue eyes, long fingers and a very dry wit."

"Yes, he will have blue eyes and possibly long fingers because the sperm I chose was from a guy who was blond haired, blue eyes and about six foot six inches."

"Really?" House said sarcastically.

"Really. His number was 72071."

House started laughing, unable to control himself he leaned against the window sill.

"What's so funny?" Kate asked, one hand on her hip, the other waving a paint roller.

"You think I'm stupid? 72071 is your birthday."

The blood drained from her face. "How the hell did you know that?"

"I know a lot of things. That's my baby."

"No, you're wrong. Well, you're right about the birthday, but the truth is that I slept with a friend after you left. I was honest, told him that I just wanted his sperm. He agreed and well, here I am."

"Yeah, right. What's his name?"

"Rutger."

"As in Rutger Hauer?"

"Rutger Christensen and he does have blue eyes, is well over six foot and has long fingers."

House was flabbergasted. _Is she really pregnant by someone else?_ She seemed sincere. Looking down, House said very soberly, "I want a DNA test."

"Why? The baby's not yours."

"You don't know that. We slept together several times during your fertile period; it very well could be mine."

"How would you know if I was ovulating?"

"The day after I arrived you had gas and mentioned that you had just finished your period. Do the math."

"You knew that when we had sex?"

"I purposefully had sex because you were ovulating."

"You wanted me to get pregnant?"

"I wanted you to have a reason to live again…I thought I'd give it a shot, pun intended."

"Well, you didn't get me pregnant. The amnio showed it was Rutger's."

"I want to see that test."

"Screw you! I don't owe you anything."

"You can either test the DNA when he's born or give me the amnio DNA results. If not, you can face the humility of a court order."

She backed up to the rocker and sat down. "Why? Just assuming for argument's sake it came back positive, you don't want to be a father, do you?"

He hunched his shoulders. "I didn't think I'd ever give up Vicodin, but I did. I always thought I'd be with Cuddy, but I'm not. What I'm trying to say is that, just because I never saw myself as a Dad, doesn't mean I won't be a good one."

"You'd be an absent one."

"Maybe."

"I'd rather have no father than an absent one that he pines for."

"It is what it is. Either I'm his father or not, his DNA will tell me that."

"You had two fathers and look where it got you."

"Yep, head of the Diagnostics Department in a major hospital and in the bed of a beautiful woman who's managed to swallow a blimp."

"I'm pregnant, not fat."

"I wasn't talking about you; I was talking about the other beautiful women I've bedded."

Rolling her eyes, Kate turned and spent the next half hour finishing the lower section of the wall. She pulled out a new roll and put it on the roller so that she could help House finish the upper portion of the twelve foot walls. They worked, their backs to each other and then finally meeting in the middle of the large wall. House grinned at her when the last stroke covered the wall.

"Now feed me." House demanded as he handed her the roller. She cleaned up and then rolled up the plastic that covered the deep Mahogany plank floors. House, feeling a little guilty just watching her work, started putting the lids on the paint and cleaning the brushes and rollers.

Once the paint was in the storage room, they walked back to the house side by side.

"It really is beautiful up here in the mountains. It looks so different in the summer."

"It does, doesn't it? Boy, I never thought last winter would ever end. We got more snow than we've ever had before."

"Is that a creek?" House cried out as he stared through the window.

She chuckled. "Yeah, it's a creek. You don't see it when there's six feet of snow."

He watched the water as it rushed down large stones and over broken branches. She had a patio set under a large shade tree. It sat on a deck that hung over the creek. The back yard had several sitting areas and patio furniture along with a fireplace and large barbeque. It reminded him of a mountain spa. He also noticed that there was a swimming pool. "A pool?"

"Yeah, a pool with a diving board."

"Wow, how did I miss that?"

"It has a cover and the cover was covered with snow when you were here."

"Are you going to feed me?"

"You did paint for me. The least I can do is feed you."

"Good. I wouldn't mind your macaroni and cheese thingy."

House went to take a shower while Kate made homemade macaroni and cheese and broccoli on the side. When he returned, he found her stretching backwards while holding the small of her back. He chuckled to himself, she was _so _pregnant and round. Even her thighs looked like sturdy tree trunks. She finally looked up and saw him staring at her.

"What?"

"Tired?" He asked.

"I've been on my feet since five this morning."

House looked at the clock, it was six o'clock. "Why don't we eat downstairs and watch some TV?"

Too tired to argue, Kate picked up the plates and flatware and started down the stairs while House followed. Downstairs, Kate grabbed a canned smoothie for herself and a beer for House. They sat eating for a few minutes, Kate enjoying having her feet up on the ottoman.

"You're different."

"I keep pointing out to you that I'm pregnant."

"Yes, you keep pointing out the obvious. No, I mean you're not moping around."

"No, I'm about ready to fall asleep. I'm tired."

House put down his empty plate. "Hand me your feet,"

"Sorry, they're attached. I've tried detaching them, but I've lost the special Allen wrench."

House waved for her to give him her feet. She obliged by swinging them up into his lap. He took off her shoes and began to massage her feet. "They are swollen. You need to stay off your feet."

"You saw that nursery; the crib is being delivered tomorrow. I have a ton of things to do."

"I'll put the crib together while you take a rest."

Kate was barely able to concentrate on what he was saying. The gentle massaging of her feet coupled with a full stomach was lulling her to sleep. A few minutes later House put her feet on the couch because Kate was dead to the world. He took the plates upstairs and cleaned up the kitchen before waking her and helping her up the steps to the kitchen. She started for the second set of stairs, but House pulled her towards the guest room.

"What are you doing?"

"I didn't think you'd want to sleep alone."

She looked at the door to the guest room and then at the stairs. "I'm not up for sex. I'm so tired and bloated that even a hand job is out of the question."

"I'm not looking for sex…well, not right now. Just come in and we can cuddle."

"Cuddle you? Why would I do that?"

"Because you know you want to."

"You are living in a fantasy world. In case I didn't get through to you before, your performance in Princeton made me realize how big an ass you really are."

"I've been trying to apologize for the last eight hours. What do you want me to say?"

"There's a lot of things you could say; I'm not sure if they'll make me change my mind about you."

"Fine, go upstairs, climb in that big lonely bed of yours and sleep alone."

"Thank you. Good night." She climbed the stairs and went to bed.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**August 18th**

When she woke in the morning she felt an arm draped over her. Kate looked over her shoulder and saw a head of hair, silver and dark gray hair laced with brown. He was sound asleep, snoring quietly, comfortable and peaceful.

Her bladder was about to burst so she waddled into the bathroom, peed and then ran the water for a shower. Once warm enough, Kate stepped into the shower thinking about House's obvious lack of boundaries. A few minutes later an amused House walked into the bathroom and opened the door to the shower. There was a squeal and then an effort to hide her breasts.

"Relax, I'm a doctor. I just wanted to see the belly in the nude."

"_Give me a towel and get out of my bedroom_." Kate snarled as she stood with one arm around her breasts and the other hand on her protruding belly.

"Let me just touch your belly."

"You can touch it when I'm dressed."

"Look, this isn't something sexual. I just find your body fascinating. You look so maternal-so many curves on one body. Come on. Please?"

She thought for a second, turned off the shower and then turned slightly towards him so that he could touch her. House climbed into the shower and put his hand on her tummy. She guided it down to where he could feel the heel of the baby's foot.

He was in his own world, mesmerized by the fact that inside of this woman was a tiny creature that would one day grow up and pay bills, drive cars, take vacations, make massive mistakes along the way. He was both excited and scared shitless. If this was his son, would he inherit the pain of being an outsider that House had felt all his life?

"Kate, is this my child?" He said gently.

She clenched her eyes closed and took a deep breath, tired of playing games. Nodding she responded softly, "Yes, this is your son."

He stepped forward and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you, really. I tried calling all the hotels in Princeton and Philly. I left you a dozen messages—"

"Four, you left me four messages."

"I mentally left you eight more."

"Greg, why are you here?"

"When Daniel told me that you were pregnant, I knew that I didn't have to do anything; that you wouldn't expect or ask for anything from me and I thought I'd be fine with that. But the more I thought about it the more I knew that I didn't want to just be a bystander. I want to be a part of it."

"Why?"

He thought for a moment. "I don't have a good answer for you. I just know that I don't want my biological child walking around not knowing me and who I am."

"I need to get out, I'm getting cold."

He got out and grabbed a towel, handing it to her. She took it and toweled off while he watched. "God you're big." But in reality he knew that she was average size for a pregnant woman, she just looked bigger because her frame was so small.

"Yeah, I think that's about the billionth time you've reminded me."

She dressed and eventually they made their way down the stairs. House made breakfast while Kate sat down. "What does this mean—you're desire to know your son?"

"I think we should live together. I could help out, you know, sit on the couch and drink beer while you feed and diapter the baby."

"Us? Together?"

"Yeah. You know, like a family."

"Greg, I'm not moving to Princeton."

"Why not? Wilson would hire you."

"I have a job, a family, a home…they're here in Oregon."

"So? You're rich. You could fly back and forth. Spend some time in Princeton and then fly back to Oregon whenever you needed to. Or you could quit your job. We don't really need money."

"Why don't you move here?"

"Me? No. You'd have to put your neck out for me to get me a job and I doubt I'd last very long. Your reputation would suffer."

"But it makes more sense; you get referrals from all over the world. You treat a lot of important people and their families, some that would be more than happy to donate to the hospital for the opportunity to be diagnosed by you. Granted, Seaside would have to buy some new equipment, but-"

"This is preposterous I do my best work next to a white board with my team and I need a hospital with the latest equipment."

Kate's face dropped and she nodded. "Who are we kidding? You're not moving here and I'm not moving to Princeton. Besides, we've really only known each other two weeks. I don't think it's wise for you to quit your job, move across country and become a new father in less than a month. That's being a little extreme."

"I'm famous for extreme, but you have a point."

"Honestly, Greg, being a new mother and starting a new relationship might be too much for me too."

"You won't know unless we take this leap."

"No leaping. I don't think I can handle leaping right now."

"Okay, what about this. I fly out as often as I can, stay with you and the kid and if we get along, we move in together—somewhere."

"And the alternative?"

"I sue for custody and you end up with a kid that's flying back and forth between Princeton and Portland alone."

Her mouth dropped open. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

He winced. "I know, it sounds drastic, but I'm hoping just the threat scares you into letting me do what I want to do."

She smiled. "You're so strange sometimes."

"Am I required to adopt the kid or something?"

"I don't know…I guess it depends on what you want."

"You're going to put me down on the birth certificate, right?"

"Do you want me to put you down?"

"Yeah, might as well, the kid's going to look like me anyway."

"And you know this because?"

"You and I both have light eyes, but mine are bluer, my hair is darker than yours and I'm taller…lot's of dominating genes on my side."

"Your blue eyes aren't more dominating than my grayish blue eyes."

"I like how you threw in the blue for your eyes…sorry, but they're just Huntington blue wannabes. Your daughter, she had big blue eyes, right?"

"Yes."

"I rest my case. I have the Huntington orbs, so will he."

"Are you going to tell your mother?"

"If I don't, I won't live very long when she does find out."

Kate chuckled. "I'll put you down on the birth certificate, but you know that Steve's going to be outraged."

"Why?"

"In his eyes, you screwed your sister."

"At the very most I screwed my sister-in-law, but you can't be my sister-in-law unless there's a brother in between and there isn't—anymore."

"I know. It's not rational, but that's what he'll think."

"In the Old Testament, the brother was supposed to marry his brother's widow."

"Yeah, and King David had six wives…he's still not going to buy it. At least, not at first."

"Hey, I've lived almost my whole life without brothers, if he disowns me, I'll survive."

There was a knock at the door.

"My crib!" She jumped up and answered the door.

Daniel walked in and hugged her. "I have it in the back of the trunk." Looking up, he grinned and shouted to House. "Uncle Greg! Good to see you."

House walked over and shook his hand. "You don't look surprised."

Daniel gave House a bear hug which caused House to lose his breath.

"Aunt Kate texted me. I have to unload the boxes…one's pretty heavy."

"I can help." House said, hoping that his continued offers of help would soften up Kate.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm a cripple, but a handy cripple."

Daniel drove the truck up to the back of the house where they unloaded the box. "I don't think I can get it up the stairs by myself and frankly, I don't think you'll be able to help Uncle Greg. Let's unpack it and take it up in pieces."

"Good idea." House said.

They managed to get the crib upstairs in several pieces. House watched while Daniel and Kate assembled the crib together. "Is there anything you don't know how to do?" He asked.

They looked over at him.

"Are you talking to me?" Kate asked, her legs sprawled out on the floor to support her belly while she screwed the leg to the bottom of the crib."

"Yeah, you're not even looking at the directions." House pointed out.

"Directions are for sissies."

House grinned at her, marveling at her independence.

Daniel hooked the rails onto the hangers and casually mentioned, "I take it your presence here means the baby has a real daddy."

Kate blushed.

Daniel laughed at her. "Uncle Greg already told me that the two of you had sex when he was here."

Kate glared at House.

House defended himself, "Hey, he'd already done the math, figured that the due date corresponded to my visit."

"That's the problem with being so damn smart." Kate sneered at Daniel who simply grinned back.

"Yeah, you don't have to keep asking the proverbial question, 'Who's your Daddy?' It's me." House said.

"So, you're going to…what? Move here?"

"Your aunt won't let me."

Kate gave a sigh of exasperation. "Your uncle and I have really only known each other a few weeks and—"

"You managed to make a new human being in that time." Daniel pointed out.

"Yes, and as much as I want this baby, it doesn't mean I want your uncle."

"You wanted him long enough to make a baby."

"You'll understand when you're older." Kate said, frustrated with both of them.

"I'm 18, I understand sexual urges. But Aunt Kate, you wouldn't have slept with Uncle Greg if you hadn't felt something for him…that's just who you are."

She crossed her arms. "You don't think I'm capable of having casual meaningless sex?"

Both men said in unison, "No!"

"You're wrong; I've had lots of meaningless sex."

Daniel and House laughed at her.

Realizing what she had just confessed to an 18 year old, she backed up. "I meant that there have been a few occasions where I didn't necessarily have deep feelings for someone."

"So you're saying that you have no feelings for Uncle Greg?"

"Uh…uh…well…I didn't say that I had _no_ feelings for him."

"She's ga-ga for me." House said.

"I am? And you?"

"I'm here aren't I?"

"Not an answer. You're curious, you'd be here anyway."

Daniel nodded, "She's right. Are you in love with Aunt Kate?"

House's mouth opened, but no words came out. He saw Kate's expression go from expectation to disappointment as she pulled herself up and left the room.

"Smooth going, Uncle Greg. You're going to have a lot of ass-kissing to do now."

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

"So you don't love her?"

Looking down at the floor, House saw the instructions and the screwdriver and reached down to pick them up. He started to finish the crib in an effort to keep from looking at Daniel. "The last couple of times I told a woman what I felt, it didn't go so well for me."

"Aunt Kate is worth the risk. Your son is too."

"Well, Dr. Phil, that's easy for you to say, you haven't been burned by all the women in your life."

"No, but I see the way she looks at you and she used to look at Uncle Keith that way. Don't hurt her; I don't think she could take it again."

"Look, kid, I offered for us to move in together, to help with the baby. She was the one who said no."

"Stay for the delivery. Show her you're ready to be there for her."

"God, you are Dr. Phil."

"I know my aunt."

"I'll stick around for a few days. She looks like she might pop anytime now."

"Make sure you're here when the baby is born."

"We'll see."

They finished the crib and dressing table and then in between lunch and dinner, Kate acted as superintendent and began giving orders on where the furniture in the room should go. They hung curtains and various artworks before she was finally pleased with the results.

"It's done, right?" House asked.

"Yes. Do you like it?"

"It's a kid's room, what's there to like?" He looked around with a discerning eye and realized it was very tastefully done. The curtains were the same melon color but had a silver gray block at the bottom. The furniture was all silver gray which looked classy against the melon and crème. "Yeah, you did a good job."

"Thank you."

They ate dinner, watched movies and then Daniel went upstairs to one of the extra bedrooms. Kate and House went upstairs to hers. This time she didn't kick him out or make a fuss, she just went about her business, undressing to put on her night gown. House came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her tummy. He felt around the baby bump, up and down until he felt a smooth lump half way down.

"Is that his butt?"

She felt and nodded.

Then he slipped one hand up around her breasts as the other one cradled her pregnant belly. They stayed that way until Kate turned in his arms and put her arm out to hold him back.

"I…I really care about you, Kate."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly. It would be easier if you didn't exist, but you do."

"I know. I don't want to fall in love with you either. I feel like I'm being unfaithful to Keith."

"Keith is long dead. I think he'd be amused that in an odd way he brought us together and we both have a new start."

"A new start-I hope I deserve it."

"You do, sweetheart, you do."

"Now let's get to bed."

Kate forgot the nightgown. She went to the window and opened it up to the warm summer air and then climbed under the sheets to snuggle with House. He was preoccupied with her belly, rubbing it, prodding it, cuddling it. Amused, Kate tried to sleep as he continued his fascination with her body. After a few minutes of medical curiosity, he fell asleep.

**Dear Readers:**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, making this a favorite and marking me as a favorite author. Normally when someone marks one of my stories as a favorite, I try to thank them by sending them a message, but for some reason there have been several of you who have your account set up so that you cannot receive personal messages. That's why I'm writing this-to thank you very much for your kindness. I really appreciate the fact that I have readers who have encouraged me with their reviews and marking me/the story as a favorite. I know that the majority of fanfic writers write because the readers encourage them and seem appreciative of the time it takes to write a story. Thank you, Kim **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**August 19th**

A knock on the door woke Kate up.

"Hey are you two having sex or can I come in?" Daniel shouted.

"Not having sex, but you can't come in." Kate yelled back. "Just a minute." She lumbered out of bed and slipped into some maternity shorts, put on a bra and t-shirt before opening the door.

"I'm going out to feed the animals and then I'm heading home. I just want to know how long Uncle Greg is going to be here. I thought maybe we could get together tomorrow."

There was a growl behind her, "I'm not going anywhere soon. My ticket home is for next Thursday."

"Okay, I'll give you guys a call tomorrow." He leaned forward and gave Kate a hug and kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks, hon, for feeding the animals. Are you going to milk the cow too?" She asked.

He nodded. "I'll leave the milk inside the mud room."

"Thanks. I love you."

"You too."

She turned and looked at House who was on his stomach, one eye open and trained on her. "I'm going down to make breakfast."

"You don't need me for that, do you?" He asked.

"Nope. You go ahead and sleep in."

"Thanks."

When House finally woke up, he found cold bacon, a coffee cake and a note telling him that she had gone to the grocery store. House opened the refrigerator door and chuckled. Staring at him were seven eggs in the egg holder with faces and hands drawn on them, all the faces conveying different levels of shock and excitement. It was cheesy, but he had to admit, it made him laugh.

When she got back, House commented on the eggs. "Oh, I started doing that when Daniel was younger. It always made him roll his eyes, but Ann told me that when he got home he told her how funny it was. He's been spending a lot of time up here helping me this summer. He works for Keith's construction company which has a lot of work in Portland. My house is half way between his parents' house and Portland so when he's working a Portland project, he just stays here."

"So, he's in complete remission?"

"Yeah, and he managed to graduate with his class. They waived some of the units required…mostly Physical Education and he spent a lot of time on the computer taking the courses over the internet. I have photos of the graduation. I'll show you later."

"What shall we do today?"

"We could go shopping in Portland."

"For what?"

"Boy outfits. I pulled all the gender neutral things I could from Maxie's stuff, but it left me pretty short on onesies and outfits."

"Didn't they throw you a shower?"

"No, I asked them not to since I'm well off."

"You said Daniel works for Keith's company? You didn't sell it?"

"No. Several of the guys running it were Keith's friends, like family. I simply put John Carlington in as the CEO and it's been running smoothly ever since. I have it audited every six months to make sure it's going in the right direction. We knew we'd take a hit without Keith's personality charming all the vendors and politicians but so far it's holding its own. The recession didn't help, things slowed down, but if I sold it, there was no guaranteeing that the guys would all find jobs. Maybe the baby will eventually take it over."

"I doubt it."

"Why?"

"He's going to be a real brainiac. He'll probably invent the solar vibrator or something."

"I'm just saying that hopefully the company will be there when he grows up."

"How much life insurance did you get?"

"None of your business."

"I'm just curious. I'm wondering what your dowry looks liked."

"He'd just upped his life insurance to fund the company if I wanted to keep it. I got five million."

"_Five million?"_

"I used half a million in the transition-when I turned the company into a corporation and paid down payments on materials to reassure the vendors that we were viable. I own 80% of the stock. I gave 10% to Daniel and the other 10% was distributed between the four employees who had been with Keith the longest."

"Wow! You're fucking rich."

"I'm not fucking anyone and I'm not rich. Five million is a lot of money, but it doesn't make you rich."

"It does in my book."

"You must be illiterate, then. I'm going to Portland, do you want to come?"

"Yeah, okay."

The drive over the crest and down into Portland was uneventful. They talked a lot about new developments in medicine, Daniel's trip to Princeton and her pregnancy.

"I think he's going to go to community college the first two years to save money. Princeton said that if he manages to keep his grades up, they'll let him apply for the same scholarships."

"Did you make the trip back to Princeton to tell me about the baby?"

"Stupid idea. I thought that maybe you'd like to know. I was really excited about it all, wanted to share it with you. I had this crazy idea that you'd be happy to see me."

"I was."

Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. House threw his hands up in defeat.

Driving downtown Portland, they parked in a parking structure near _Ross_ _Dress for Less_ and went straight to the children's department. Holding up various articles of clothing including a pseudo cowboy outfit, camouflage onesies and tiny versions of Levis, she sought House's opinion and approval.

"All he needs is a rifle and an AKA."

"Greg, come on, help me. I don't have much time to get him things."

There was an audible sigh. "Why are you leaving it so late?"

"Because I've been working my ass off. We're expanding the Oncology department. I've also been asked to handle the internet courses for the med students at Seattle and UCLA."

"Porn? Pregnancy porn?"

"Oncology and Chemotherapy."

"Boring. Pregnancy porn sounds much more interesting"

"Greg—onesies, please?"

House started throwing clothes in the basket.

"You're not even looking at them." She protested.

"Pookins, we can afford everything at these prices. What we don't use, we'll give away."

His logic was flawless, but Kate couldn't help but start rummaging through the cart and putting back things she knew she'd never use while House waited in the long line that snaked to the back of the store.

"Let's see…what else does he need?" Kate asked rhetorically.

"A father."

A huge growl of frustration escaped her lips. "Wait here, I think I saw a father for sale on aisle three."

House narrowed his eyes at her.

They spent the rest of the day walking downtown, eating and window shopping. House wanted to get her something special to mark the birth of the baby, to give to her after the baby was born. When she mentioned that she needed a nursing gown and bras he saw his opportunity to go shopping.

"I want to go to a tobacco shop."

"What? Tobacco? You smoke?"

"The occasional cigar."

"Ugh."

"Not often, but I am going to be a father, I think I deserve one."

"Fine, you go to your Tobacconist and I'll go to the maternity shop and I'll meet you back at the car in an hour."

"Okay."

House walked around Portland, shopping in a few jewelry stores but not finding anything. Eventually, he went into a used book shop and checked the first editions they had. He was surprised to find an autographed first edition of _Good Times Bad Times, _a book he had seen on her library shelf that was dogeared and well read. He wasn't sure if she had read it or it was Keith's book, but he decided to take a chance, he forked over the $100 and bought it.

Then, on his way back to the car, he had second thoughts and decided he ought to get her some jewelry to commemorate the occasion. He looked at sapphires and rubies and emeralds, but he kept coming back to a diamond ring. It reminded him of his Grandmother, she had one like it. It had three emerald cut diamonds, a large stone in the middle and two smaller ones flanking it on a platinum band. He'd have to make it clear that it wasn't an engagement ring, but it was the only ring that spoke to him. He saw the large diamond as their son, flanked by the two of them, all together on a band that circled in eternity. It was 3.5 carats and $17,000. After he purchased it, he realized that it was probably over the top. But he had run out of time and was going to be late as it was getting back to the car. It would have to do.

Back at the car, he found her waiting. He jumped in the passenger side and smiled at her. "Waiting long?"

"No, maybe five minutes. I was just worried that I was going to be late. I was actually relieved to find that you were the late one. That bag doesn't look like cigars."

"Couldn't find a tobacco shop."

"So what did you buy?"

"A book on Monster Trucks for Wilson."

"He likes Monster Trucks?"

"Yeah."

"You guys are nuts."

"Perhaps. Are we stopping for food on the way home?"

"I got groceries earlier; I thought I'd cook for you." She said, pulling out of the parking garage.

"I like your cooking."

"Really?"

"Didn't I tell you that before?"

"No."

"Well, I do."

She smiled to herself.

"Boy the weather turned ugly all of a sudden." He said. The rain had started out as a light sprinkle but was quickly becoming a deluge.

"It's supposed to rain for the next few days."

As they climbed the mountain out of Portland it only got worse. House started to worry; he was having trouble seeing out the front window and knew Kate was too.

"Kate, why don't you pull over and we'll let the worst of the storm pass us by?"

"I would, but it's only going to get worse and if I pull over, we'll probably get hit by someone who can't see that we're pulled over."

"Are you alright?"

"The baby's kicking like mad."

"I'll drive; just pull over long enough so that we can trade seats."

"I know these roads Greg, you don't. We'll be safer with me driving."

"Are you sure? You look tired. I'm fine."

She drove another minute, thinking about the last time she drove when she was feeling this tired. Finally, when she came around a curve, there was a short pull-out, one of the few on the road. The SUV barely fit in the pull-out so she put the emergency flashing lights on to warn anyone driving past. She wasn't happy about the position of the car, the person getting out of the driver's side would have to traverse a few feet into the traffic lane but she noted that there was plenty of room for cars to pass around them without going over the center line. When Kate started to open the door of the driver's side, House pulled her arm.

"No! You're right, this is dangerous. You scoot over on the front seat, I'll go around."

She didn't hesitate to agree. If she hadn't been pregnant, she would have taken the chance, but she wasn't going to chance exposing the baby to unnecessary harm. House climbed out, pulling the cap down over his head and running. The sky had opened again and he could barely see as he rounded the back of the car. The red emergency lights were a runny blur even though he was less than three feet from them. Just as he started to come around the back, he looked to see if traffic was coming. He wasn't sure if what he was seeing were lights until it was too late. The truck, traveling a little too fast for the conditions, sideswiped the side of the SUV, pushing it to the precipice of the side of the road. House, in a futile attempt to prevent the car from going over, tried to grab the bumper. The SUV teetered with Kate inside. Her heart pounded as the front of the SUV bobbed up and down over side of the road. She tried to sit back, shift the center of gravity, but it was too late, the SUV went over the edge as House screamed.

"_Kate! Kate! Jesus, Kate!"_

He couldn't see much because of the rain. The truck stopped thirty feet up from them, protruding out into the traffic lane. House ran to the side of the road, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and dialing 911 as he looked over the edge. He could barely make out brake lights about fifty feet down. How the car had managed to roll between two large pines without hitting them and end up on its top, House didn't know, but that's what it looked like had happened.

The truck driver turned out to be a woman by herself, anxious to get home and out of the weather. House, clearly angry, screamed at her. "You stupid bitch! You had plenty of room, why—"

"I'm sorry, I was hugging the side of the road because I was afraid someone coming from the other way might cross over the line. Is anyone in there?"

"Yes, a very pregnant woman. You stay on the phone with the police, I'm going to try and get down to her."

House didn't have his cane which was in the car, so it made climbing down the side of the hill even more difficult. Grasping for roots and bushes to hang on to as he traversed the slope resulted in numerous cuts on his hand and arms, but he kept going until he was within a few feet of the upside down SUV. The rain let up a little, allowing him to see a figure suspended upside down in the front seat. House hurried the remaining ten feet and reached the passenger side. Kate was hanging from the seat in the seat belt which she was still trying to unbuckle but it wouldn't budge. She twisted to look out the window at him, her face cut, her beige pants soaked in blood. She was clearly in distress. The front window was partially smashed. House tried to open the door, but it was stuck.

"Greg, I'm bleeding. The baby, the baby is in trouble…please get me out, please."

"I'm working on it, sweetheart. Try to take deep breaths to get oxygen to the baby."

It was the right thing to say because it gave Kate something to concentrate on besides the pain and discomfort. She concentrated on her breathing, drawing in deep breaths and slowing her heart rate. House crawled on his belly underneath the hood of the car. The windscreen was at an angle that he couldn't get to her.

"Sweetheart, I'm going to have to kick the glass in further, shield your face. "

Her arms had been dangling, but she managed to draw them up to her face. House positioned his back against a rock and kicked with his heel until the windscreen broke free and he was able to bend the shattered safety glass back.

He could touch her. His wet hand on her arms felt like a life preserver. Kate felt calmer, able to concentrate on helping him free her.

"The clasp won't budge. Please do something. I need out."

House nodded. "I don't have a knife to cut you free."

"There's one in the glove compartment."

"Can you reach it?"

"My shoulder is hurt, but I'll try…the airbag is in the way."

House realized the airbag had deployed and was hanging down. He turned 180° and slid his head and shoulders into the open windshield, scraping his neck on a sharp piece of metal and drawing blood. He didn't even feel it; his whole body was concentrated on getting to the glove compartment. He reached up and fiddled with the latch which was reluctant to open until he lifted up as he manipulated the lever. The latch gave way. As soon as he opened the glove compartment the contents fell out onto the ceiling. Kate felt around in the pile and found the utility knife and flashlight, handing both to House.

House looked through the six inch utility knife's features. It had a cork screw, a pair of rather weak scissors, a screw driver, a long, sharp knife and various other gadgets. He took the knife and decided to cut the harness first. When it was cut in two, her torso dangled, but the pressure was released from her belly.

"Sweetheart, when I cut the seat belt you're going to fall."

"Greg, I'm not an idiot; I know that. But you have to get me out, _now!"_

Without further hesitation, he cut the lap belt and her body fell into the ceiling of the SUV.

"Ahhhhhh!" Her mournful scream made House sick to his stomach. She remained on the ceiling, holding her belly and rolling back and forth in pain.

"Kate, listen to me, listen! We need to get you out so I can check you."

She winced and nodded, allowing House to back out and then reach in to pull her through. After fifteen minutes of maneuvering, he managed to get her on the ground under the hood of the car which shielded them from the rain. He immediately helped her unzip the soaked pants and pulled them down.

"Spread your legs."

She spread her legs.

"Damn I have nothing to sterilize my hands."

"It doesn't matter, if we don't do something quickly, the baby is going to die, trust me."

House did trust her because the blood was a sure indicator that something was wrong. He took the flashlight and while shining it between her legs, he reached up with the free hand into her vagina.

"Crap! I'm touching his head!"

"I'm cramping."

"You're having contractions."

"I'm so tired, all my energy is gone."

"You're losing blood, probably a torn placenta."

"You need to take the baby…do whatever it takes to get him out."

"No. The paramedics will be here soon."

"Greg, he's probably in distress. Please, please cut me open and take the baby."

"_Are you crazy? You'll die."_

"No, I won't. You know how to do this…please save our baby."

House shook his head, but something told him that he might lose both if he did nothing.

She screamed again in pain.

"What was that?" He asked.

"A contraction."

"You're having the baby naturally. Let's just wait a few minutes. I'll do an episiotomy to get him out faster."

"Are you sure?" She managed to ask before another contraction took over.

"Yeah, let's just see if he'll come naturally."

"But I'm still bleeding. I'm so weak I don't know if I can push."

He bent down and listened to her lungs and heart. Her heart should have been racing, but the sounds were becoming fainter.

"Kate, please try and push as hard as you can."

"Greg, I don't know if I can."

"The baby needs maybe one or two pushes, please, sweetheart, try."

She gave a gentle nod and began to push. Blood poured out from her womb, but House could also feel the baby's head closer to the entrance.

"One more."

Taking a deep breath, she pushed again and the baby's head popped out.

"Yes! His head is out. If you can push again, I can pull him the rest of the way."

"I can't, I can't."

"Kate, you have to…if you want to see your baby, you need to push right now."

Grabbing his shirt at the shoulder, she squeezed as she pushed. The baby popped out into House's hands along with another gush of fluids, including more blood. He placed the baby on Kate's chest and started unlacing his shoe, using it to tie off the umbilical cord. He cut the cord with the knife and then delivered the afterbirth. He noticed that her eyes were closed and her face pale, almost opaque. Sirens sounded above him on the road and he grew excited at the idea that the cavalry had finally arrived.

"Kate? Kate? Honey, they're here. The paramedics are here."

There was nothing more he could do for her so he turned his attention to his son. The baby was pink and apparently healthy. House sucked the fluid from his nose and spit it out on the ground. As if on cue, the baby wailed, causing House to swallow hard with relief. Soaked to the skin, House had nothing close by to wrap the baby in. But he needed something to protect the baby when they climbed out of the canyon so House took off his shirt and wrapped the baby in it just as two paramedics popped their heads underneath the overturned SUV.

"Placental abruption resulting in early, but successful delivery of a healthy baby. I'd score him a 9. She's lost several units of blood and is unconscious and hypotensive." House rattled off while they pulled Kate from under the hood and placed her on a stretcher. House took the baby and carried him as best he could up the hill. It was obvious that he was having trouble so another paramedic from a second ambulance came down the slope and grabbed the baby.

"Are you the husband?"

"No, but I'm the father."

The guy nodded, his face dripping from the rain that had started up again in earnest. When House reached the top of the hill, he was shocked to see three police vehicles, two ambulances, a fire truck and a tow truck. Red rotating lights lit up the dark sky.

"Name of patient?"

"Dr. Kate Monaghan."

The paramedic blinked a few times. "Dr. Katherine Monaghan of Seaside Hospital?"

House nodded.

"Christ, George, it's Dr. Monoghan." He yelled to the paramedic in the ambulance.

"I didn't recognize her…oh, yeah, it is."

The paramedic took the baby to the ambulance followed by House. "Who are you?"

"Gregory House. I'm a doctor too."

"Get in doctor, let the cops handle this. They'll catch up with you in Portland."

House jumped in just as they finished hanging platelets and were ready to go back down to Portland. As they made their way down the mountain, House watched while they communicated her status to the hospital and in return, began to supply her with saline and antibiotics. He turned to his son, who was lying on the cot next to him. House then realized that the baby was crying. Picking him up, he cradled the baby until the baby calmed down.

Once all that could be done was done, the paramedic turned back to House. "We were the ones that responded to the accident that killed Dr. Monaghan's husband and little girl. It was a real tragedy, everyone likes her a lot. Did she drive over the edge again?"

"No, she was in the passenger seat. We had pulled over in the pull-out and were changing seats so that I could drive when a woman hit the side and pushed her over the cliff. I was outside of the vehicle when it happened."

"Damn, she can't catch a break can she? She's lost a lot of blood and her blood pressure is 80 over 50, not good. At least the baby is alert. So he's your son?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to call him?"

House shrugged. "I'm not sure…maybe Keith."

The paramedic nodded. "That would be nice…wasn't that her husband's name?"

"Yeah."

"You're cool with that?"

"He was my half-brother."

"Oh?" The paramedic was a little surprised at that revelation.

House ignored the paramedic and concentrated on the baby in his arms. The child was pink and wide awake, staring up at him, trying hard to focus, but it would be weeks before he'd see sharp edges. House wondered what he looked like to his son and if his son recognized his voice—probably not. He hadn't been around long enough, but the first smell the baby was introduced to was House's shirt, so that would probably be imprinted immediately.

"Hey, Dude, I know this was baptism by fire, but welcome to my world. That's your beautiful mother over there. She's lost a lot of blood because of you. I hope you remember that when you're sixteen."

The paramedic snickered.

Half an hour later they entered Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Beaverton, a community off of Highway 26 in a suburb of Portland. Within minutes Kate was typed and given blood as they rushed her to surgery. Since there was nothing he could do about Kate, House went with the baby for his examination.

"The baby's fine although a little congested. He seems full term, is he?" The female obstetrician, Ginny Drysdale, asked.

"Yes, Kate was due this week, he had dropped down and she was already effaced."

"I'd put him at a high 9, maybe a 10 on the Apgar. He's responding very well."

"When can I take him home?"

"We'll feed him and keep him overnight. He can stay for a day or two since his mother is incapacitated, but then we'll discharge him into your care. You are his father, right?"

He nodded.

The police caught up with House two hours later and took his version of events. The woman driving the truck had indicated that the SUV was sticking out, but the cops had already determined from the skid marks and debris in the pull out that it was more likely that her truck had crossed the line and hit the SUV. House confirmed it and after signing some paperwork, they informed him that the car had been towed to a local lot.

"We brought your girlfriend's purse and our car is filled with bags of kids things from the back of the SUV. Can we bring them in here?"

House was sitting in a waiting room while the nurses fed and cleaned up the baby. "I guess. Do you need help?"

"Nah, we've got it. You just wait here and we'll be back."

Two trips later and the waiting room was filled with bags from _Ross_, the maternity shop and the book store. House had the ring in his pocket. Two hours later, House was in a room waiting for Kate, surrounded by bags and a bassinet with his son in it. The baby was fast asleep.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**Early Morning August 20th**

Around one in the morning, Daniel, Steve and Ann burst into the room. House, dozing, woke at the sound and looked up, shocked to see all of them at such a late hour.

"Greg, how's Kate?" Steve asked. House was surprised to see the genuine concern in his face.

"Oh my God! Is that the baby?" Ann squealed as she went straight to the bassinet and fiddled with the blanket on the baby.

House looked at Daniel who rolled his eyes and plopped down in the other chair. House responded, "I think Kate's still in surgery, at least she was half an hour ago. It's taking longer than expected. They're having trouble controlling the bleeding. And yes, that's the baby. I delivered him at the bottom of the canyon."

"Really?" Daniel asked, eyes bugged. Now interested, he leaned forward to check out the baby, to see if he was okay.

"Your aunt was hanging upside down in her SUV. After I cut her loose she went into labor. The munchkin popped out a few minutes later."

"Wow!" Daniel stood to look in the bassinet. "Is he normal?"

"He's a House, he'll never be normal."

Daniel laughed.

"Yeah, he's doing very well. Reminds you of a Ferengi with those wrinkles on his forehead, don't you think?" House asked with a wink.

Daniel nodded. "He's tiny."

Ann shook her head, "He's not really tiny for a newborn. How big is he?"

"Uh…I think they said 6 pounds 2 ounces and 19.5 inches long." House said.

"That's long for a baby! He's going to be tall. What's his name?" Ann asked, dying to pick the sleeping child up.

"Not sure. I know that Kate said something at one point about naming the baby Keith."

Steve's mouth dropped open. "You aren't really going to call him that, are you?"

"Why not?"

"You're his half-brother! You had a child with his wife!"

"He's dead Steve. She hasn't been his wife for over three years."

"Still—how could you?"

"Have you seen her? She's pretty hot." House responded.

Ann blushed.

Steve glared and then went over to the basinet and looked down. "Boy, huh?"

"Huge package." House nodded, "But you knew that it was a boy."

"Are you going to marry Kate?"

"Steve!" Ann screamed.

Everyone stopped and looked at House. He shrugged. "One step at a time. Let's just see how she does in surgery."

Everyone nodded in unison.

"What are all these bags?" Daniel asked.

"Your aunt and I went shopping for baby things in Portland."

Daniel looked around. "Do you want me to take them to the house?"

"That would be great. Could you drive my rental down tomorrow? They're going to release the baby and I'll need some way to get him home."

"I'll stay over and drive you both home." Daniel offered.

"Who's going to take care of him?" Ann asked.

"I guess I'll have to." House said.

"You can't do it on your own! Newborns are very time consuming. I'll take a few days off and come up to help you."

"Thank you, Ann. I'd appreciate the help."

A doctor, dressed in bloody scrubs walked into the room. "Which one of you is Daniel Huntington?"

All eyes turned to Daniel.

"I am."

"I'm Dr. Tolkin, the surgeon; I need to ask you to make a decision."

"_Me?"_ Daniel shrieked.

The doctor fiddled with the chart in his hands. "Yes, it says here that you have her Medical Directive…the power of attorney over medical decisions."

"My son? Are you sure?" Steve asked, walking over and putting a hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"Daniel Huntington, it says it right here."

There were dropped jaws around the room.

"What decision needs to be made?" House asked.

"Her uterus is damaged. It's possible it could heal, but it's more likely that it will become infected and she might become septic."

"Septic?" Daniel looked over at House for an explanation.

"The infection spreads to the blood and the chance of her dying skyrockets." House said.

"Dying?" Daniel was now shaking in his boots.

House nodded.

Daniel turned back to the surgeon, wide eyed. "What do you want to do?"

"We can give her a hysterectomy." The surgeon explained.

Ann gasped and held onto her husband's arm.

"Remove her uterus?" Daniel asked.

The doctor nodded.

"Uncle Greg? But, that means she won't be able to have any more babies."

The surgeon spoke up. "She's almost forty; her childbearing years are coming to an end. Did she want more children?"

Everyone looked to House for an answer.

"Hell, I don't know. I just know I don't want her dying."

"You really think she might die, Uncle Greg?"

House thought for a minute. "I want to see her records."

"You're not on her Hippa list of people who can see her records." The surgeon said after scouring the file.

"Fine, Daniel wants a copy of them." House demanded.

Daniel spoke up, "Yeah, I want a copy of her records."

The surgeon nodded. "I need to know what you want me to do in the next couple of hours. If we're going to do the hysterectomy, we can't feed her tonight so that we can operate tomorrow."

House nodded back to let him know that he understood.

Within twenty minutes, Daniel was handed a copy of the file which he in turn handed to House.

House read through and looked up, addressing Daniel directly. "Her uterus is banged up but essentially intact after all the stitching. The problem is that she's lost a lot of blood and in her weakened state she probably doesn't have much left to fight infections if she gets one."

"So what should I do?" Daniel asked.

House clenched his jaw and looked down, knowing that what he wanted to do and what Daniel should do were two different things. "Tell them to do nothing."

"What?" Steve jumped to his feet, having sat down in a pink recliner. "But the doctor said—"

"Her uterus is banged up, but it's possible she might be able to have more children if she wants. I don't think Daniel wants to make a decision about whether or not his aunt can have more children. None of us know what Kate wants and since her uterus is still intact, I think it's worth taking a chance to see what she wants."

Steve narrowed his eyes and glared at House. "Is this something to do with a desire to produce a sister or brother for your son?"

House roared with laughter. "I can assure you that I never wanted to be a father but I've decided to give it a go. Believe me, I don't want more kids. But I can't say the same for Kate and she deserves a say in it."

Daniel thought for a second and asked, "How do I tell the doctor?"

"He'll be back as soon as they bring Kate in from recovery."

A nurse stuck her head in and looked around, her eyes settling on Ann. "We have a bottle ready, I think you should try and give it to him."

House stood up. "He's still sleeping."

"Fine, I'll leave the bottle. If he doesn't wake up in a few minutes, ask the nurses to prepare you a fresh one."

The nurse left and after a few minutes Ann and Steve said their goodbyes and left. The baby woke and Daniel started laughing when the baby screamed bloody murder. "Wow, that's a pair of lungs!"

"He knows how to make a fuss, doesn't he?"

House picked up the bottle and waved to Daniel to pick up the baby.

"Me? You want me to pick up the baby?"

"Just bring him over to me."

Daniel tried to pick the baby up, but he was awkward doing it. House shook his head and walked over.

"Like this…hand under head, other hand under the back."

Daniel watched and then sat down. House went to the rocker and sat down, grabbing the bottle he offered it to the baby who greedily latched on and sucked.

"Obviously he takes after me…we both like a good bottle."

Daniel laughed. "He's fierce looking, like nobody better mess with him."

The baby's forehead was rivlets of wrinkles and his eyes were narrowed into menacing slits as he sucked on the bottle. He did look fierce, as if he didn't trust a soul. House knew this boy would be self-sufficient like his mother and smart like both of them. He wondered what, if anything he would get solely from his father. He hoped it was his height, his long fingers, his musical abilities or his blue eyes. More than anything, he hoped that his son wouldn't have his cynical outlook or his deep distrust of happiness.

Half way through the bottle, they brought Kate into the room, tubes running into both arms. Daniel face turned white at the sight of her. She was cut on her face and black and blue across her jaw.

"Oh, wow. I didn't know…" His voice trailed off.

House had to admit that seeing her was disconcerting. Her little body had taken quite a beating. House continued to feed the baby while the nurses hooked up the monitors and adjusted Kate's bed and medication.

"When will she wake up?" Daniel asked the nurses.

"Oh, probably sometime within the hour."

Daniel hovered around Kate, shaking his head in disbelief. "I thought lightening never struck twice?"

"There's a guy in the Guinness Book of World Records that has been hit by lightening three times." House replied.

"Don't say that! I can't go through another auto accident."

"It's that damn mountain. Why she lives up there, I don't know. That's going to change."

"You're going to have to blast her off that mountain because she won't move any other way."

"It doesn't make sense. She's up there all alone."

"Yeah, but it's so beautiful."

"So she can keep it as a vacation house. She has lots of money; she can afford something less isolated."

"Does she still have money?" Daniel asked.

"What kind of question is that?"

"My parents don't know, but I do…I heard the nurses talking about it, but she pays my deductible."

"That can't be that much; your parents have insurance, don't they?"

"Yeah, but our co-pay on my hospital stays is 20%."

House didn't have to do the calculations to know that Daniel's care must have been well over a million dollars so far. Kate was probably out of pocket $100,000 by now. "Your parents don't know?"

"No, Aunt Kate has convinced them that the procedures I'm getting are being funded under a new study."

"And they bought it?"

"Aunt Kate's a great liar when she wants to be. Even I was convinced. I finally went down to accounting and they set me straight."

House looked down at his son and the idea that this small creature might one day get cancer or run out in the road after a ball or stick his finger in a socket made House hug the baby closer to his chest. Now he knew what parents felt, the overwhelming desire to protect his blood.

"Uncle Greg, your son needs you."

"Yeah, yeah."

"No, I don't know where I'd be without my Dad and Uncle Keith when they were alive. Most of my memories of growing up are of doing things with my Dad and Uncle Keith. You have to be a real Dad."

"It's not that easy. Your aunt and I …well, we hardly know each other. We may have a kid together, but we've only spent a few weeks getting to know each other."

"Still, there was something between you two—like you understood each other."

House had to agree, he understood pain and being damaged, two things that they shared. They also shared a love of medicine, books, and movies. He liked being with her—he liked her, a lot. Was it love? A shiver went down his spine. Even the idea of admitting he might be in love was enough to make him anxious. "She's alright."

They both laughed at the understatement.

"I wish he had a name. It would be nice to call him something other than 'baby.'"

"Soon. His mom will wake up and tell us what she wants to name him."

They settled back to watch television, House holding the baby as he fell back asleep. He thought about putting the baby back in the basinet, but he was enjoying holding him, feeling the warmth of the little body next to him. Occasionally, House would look down and check the baby who was fast asleep, a tiny fist protruding next to his cheek.

"Greg?"

Daniel and House both looked towards the bed where the voice had come from.

"Can I see him?"

House pushed himself up as he held the baby In the crook of his arm. "How do you feel?"

"Groggy, achy. I have a little pain in my groin."

"Aunt Kate, do you want your uterus?"

Kate tried to raise her head to look at Daniel. "_What?"_

House started laughing. "Here's your son, now name him." He put the baby in the arms of his mother and stepped back.

She grinned. "Don't go too far, I feel too tired to hold him for long. Why does Daniel want my uterus?"

"The doctors want to yank it. It's pretty banged up and they're afraid you could get an infection."

"I have a banged up uterus. Love the medical terminology. Well, until I get the infection, let's not yank it."

"Yeah!" Daniel did a fist pump in the air. "I told the doctor no."

She grinned. "Good for you."

"It was Uncle Greg, he said no."

She turned to look at House. "Thanks. Boy, I feel really woozy."

"Name the baby." House growled.

"I want to name him Michael, after your father and grandfather." She said to House and Daniel.

"Not Keith?" House asked.

Surprised, she thought for a second. "You want to name him after my dead husband?"

"My dead brother."

"That would be cool, Aunt Kate."

"Then why not Michael Keith Monaghan?"

"Oh no, Michael Keith House."

She cracked a grin. "No way. Michael Keith House-Monaghan."

"Michael Keith Monaghan-House sounds better."

"It does." She admitted.

"Actually it sounds like an insane asylum. They're sending me to Monaghan-House." Daniel quipped with a crazed look on his face..

Both parents raised and eyebrow and frowned in unison at Daniel who shrugged and sat down.

"Oh! I have something for you. Actually I have two things for you—"

"Can it wait? I'm having trouble concentrating." Kate's eyes were closing on her and she could feel her body retreat back into sleep as the morphine pump hummed and delivered another dose.

"I'll be fast. It's here in my pocket." He produced the ring box, opening it to show her the beautiful diamond ring. "Now, it's not—"

"Oh my God!" Her voice went up three octaves, but her eyelids still kept sliding close. "Yes, yes I'll marry you." Her eyelids closed and didn't open.

"But…Kate?" He looked at the monitor which showed that her vitals were fine, but the morphine had been administered and she would be out for hours. "Kate! Kate! It's not an engagement ring! Kate!" House looked over at Daniel. "I knew I should have gotten the earrings."

"It looks like an engagement ring."

"It's represents the baby in the middle and us on the side, see?"

"It looks like an engagement ring."

House winced. "You don't think she'll remember when she wakes up, do you?"

Daniel was wise enough not to answer.

"Crap."

"What's the worst thing that can happen?"

"That she remember and think I asked her to marry her!"

"But she said, yes."

The fact that she had said yes hadn't really sunk in yet. _If she said yes so quickly, then she's thought about this before. All that crap about us waiting and not making any moves, what was that about? Christ, maybe she's worried that if she dies the baby won't have anyone._

House refused to yield the recliner that made into a bed to Daniel, telling him to go get a hotel room. Daniel went out to the hall and reappeared pushing one of the pink recliner beds into the room, taking up residence on the other side of Kate's bed. House threw him an extra blanket and then turned out the uplight over Kate's bed. An hour later the baby started crying, House got up and called out to the nurses to come and take care of the baby. They brought him a bottle and showed him where the diapers were under the basinet. Then, without another word, they left. Looking over at Daniel, the kid was dead to world. It was up to House. Tired, he rolled the basinet out to the nurses station and then went back in and climbed under the sheet on the recliner. Five minutes later the crying baby was rolled back into the room, waking House again. Angry, he jumped up and rolled him back.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" the Hispanic nurse asked, hands on his hips.

"I'm rolling him out here so that _you can do your job!"_

"_My job? You claim that you're the father; take care of your kid!"_

"That woman in there has insurance that's paying _you_ to take care of her and her newborn infant. Now earn it!" House turned around and went back into Kate's room.

A few minutes later, the screaming back was back in Kate's room with a note pinned on him. House turned on one of the side lights and read it.

_My deadbeat dad won't feed and change me…please call social services._

Kate heard the baby crying and woke up. "Greg? Is Michael hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm giving him a bottle now."

"When can I breast feed him?"

"After you pass the drugs from your system. As long as you're on painkillers, it's not a good idea to breast feed."

She looked over and saw Daniel sleeping and said softly, "Oh, my head is swirling. Whew. I don't think I can feed him, can you do it?"

"Yeah, sure…hey there's something I needed to explain about that ring."

"My engagement ring? Is it Zirconium? I don't care, Greg. When I was hanging upside down and you were doing everything in your power to rescue me and the baby…well, it made me realize that I needed to take a leap in faith and trust my feelings. I didn't know you were that committed to us, but your actions and that ring, well, you're right, the baby needs us to be a family. I just hope you don't mind long engagements?"

_Long engagements, I can live with that…all the benefits of marriage and none of the crap. Yeah! Then when we're about to get married, I can call it off or better yet, do something to get her to call it off._

"If you want a long engagement, then that's fine. And I was just going to say that maybe you might want to get it sized if it doesn't fit because those stones are real." House had already stuck a bottle in Michael's mouth instantly quieting the baby. He sat back and looked down at his son. "Boy does this kid suck."

"What?" Kate said, offended.

"Sucks…he really knows how to suck."

"Oh."

"Can I see the ring again?"

House balanced the bottle in the same arm that was holding Michael and took the ring out of his pocket. He opened it and showed it to her again.

"It's perfect, so beautiful. And three stones! It reminds me of the three of us…our little family."

He nodded; surprised that she got it too. "That's what I was thinking."

"Oh, there goes the machine again." The sound of the morphine being delivered was audible from her bed. "I don't have long before I'll be out. He probably needs changing."

"Yeah, I'm sure he does."

"He's lovely isn't he?"

"Gorgeous, absolutely beautiful." House exaggerated.

"Okay, he's handsome."

"He's ugly." House said matter of fact.

"Greg!"

"Look, his forehead is wrinkled, his eyes aren't focused, he has vernix on his head, he's almost bald and he's a pepper red."

"He's a newborn! You have to look past that."

"I know what you want. You really want me to admit that I'm madly in love with him. Sorry, not quite there yet, but I have to admit there's something. I feel protective…is that love?"

"Yeah, I think you're on your way." She said with a smile. "I'm feeling woozy again. I'll see you when I wake up again. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." House turned his attention to the baby and after he stopped sucking, he put him in the bassinet and began changing him, pee sprayed all over his shirt because he forgot to cover Michael when he pulled back the diaper. A golden stream hit him mid-chest. "Damn it, Michael! Haven't you heard that you don't pee on the guy who feeds you?"

House heard a little chuckle from the bed indicating that Kate wasn't quite asleep just yet. The baby stared up in the dim light looking confused at House's words. After the diaper was on and the onesie snapped, House stopped to take a good look at this little creature. Checking his fingers, he smiled at how small and perfect the fingernails were; how everything was in miniature. It hit him; this baby couldn't do jack on its own except breathe, eat, poop, pee and make sounds.

_He can't roll over, pick up his head, sit up, crawl, walk, dress, eat without our assistance. Christ what have I done? I've created the perfect parasite! He takes and gives nothing back. I guess all babies are parasites. _

House tried to swaddle Michael, but it didn't quite look the same as when the nurses did it. He called the nurse in, who gave him the evil eye.

"Just help me swaddle him…it doesn't look right."

She showed him how to wrap the baby tightly to mimic being in the womb and then left. House had to laugh the kid looked like a papoose. Climbing back on the recliner, House waited until Michael was obviously sleeping and then he closed his eyes.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**August 20****th**** Late Afternoon**

"So you're telling me that the last time she woke up was ten hours ago?" Tolkin asked.

House nodded. "Her fever keeps climbing."

"Her uterus must be infected; we need to do a hysterectomy. Where's her power of attorney?"

"Daniel had to go to work. I'm not convinced that the sutures are infected. She may have a hospital-acquired infection that's not site specific."

"I'll do an MRI. We're running cultures right now." Dr. Tolkin said.

The surgeon left and the obstetrician entered. "Michael is ready to go home. I've discharged him into your care."

"Great. I don't even have a car seat for him."

She shrugged. "Better get one. Good luck."

House looked down at the infant and felt overwhelmed. The baby would need feeding, bathing, diapering and in general a parent devoted to his needs. But House needed to be with Kate. How could he do both?

"Okay dude, I need to call in the cavalry." House said to his son.

House carried his son outside and then dialed the number Ann had left on the table. Ann picked up and was surprised to hear House's voice.

"How's Kate?"

"Not good. She's developed an infection and hasn't woken up for over eight hours. They've discharged the baby, but I need to stay here with Kate."

"Oh, I'll come and get him."

House sighed with relief. "Thanks, that would be great."

"Do you have a car seat?"

"No, but Kate has one at the house in her SUV. Just switch to her car, the key is in the mud room."

"Formula?"

"No formula."

"Bottles?"

"Yeah, I think that I saw some in the nursery. I think she has one package of diapers."

" You have several bags of clothes, right?"

"Yeah, they're still here."

"I'm going to stop by a grocery store to pick up some things we need; I can get food and diapers. I should be there in an hour and a half."

"Fine…and Ann, thanks."

"It's the least I can do for Kate after what she's done for my son." There was a short pause. "Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"I never blamed Kate for the accident. I just felt sorry for her. I know there's not a mean bone in her body."

House smiled to himself. "Yeah, she'd trade her life for theirs in a flash. Thanks again, Ann." Hanging up, he went back up and found Kate's room empty. Running out to the nurse's desk, he demanded to know where she was and was told that she was receiving an MRI. House relaxed and went back into the room to watch some television and feed Michael who was now staring straight up at House. It wasn't the best idea for a newborn to share the same room with someone who had a raging infection, but House figured the kid was really robust and would soon be out of the hospital.

House waited an hour and then started worrying about Kate. She wasn't back yet. He talked to the nurse who turned out to be clueless.

"Can you watch the baby so I can find out what happened?"

"No. I have patients Dr. House. You can use our phone and here's a list of departments. Be my guest."

House looked back at the room. Michael was asleep in the basinet. Hobbling back to the room, he rolled the basinet out to the desk and started dialing the MRI department.

The MRI tech told him, "Just as we took her out of the MRI she went into convulsions, her fever is up around 105."

"And the MRI?"

"Dr. House? I don't see a Dr. House on our hospital roster. Who are you?"

"I'm a consultant from Princeton, Dr. Monaghan's family asked me to oversee her case."

"House…House, Princeton…are you that guy? That diagnostician?"

"Yeah. That's me."

"Well, the infection wasn't in her uterus—_yet_, but Dr. Tolkin still wants to remove it…just in case."

"He can't do that! Especially if the uterus isn't the source of the infection."

"Well, they're trying to get her fever down to perform the surgery."

"Where is she?"

"ICU."

House hung up the phone and grabbed the basinet, rolling it with him to the elevator. He plucked his phone from his pocket and notified Ann that he was on his way to ICU with Michael to see Kate. Without letting Ann respond, House closed the phone.

The nurses weren't happy to see a man rolling a baby into the ICU, but after being told to 'do their jobs' with a few choice words added, they put in a call to security. House pulled back the curtain to Kate's bed and checked her vitals. Her fever was 106°F and her heart was beating fast. He grabbed the chart at the end of the bed and started reading. The blood sample had come back and there was a diagnosis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

There was a quick jerk of the revealing an angry Tolkin. "What is your problem?"

"My problem? You're taking her uterus out even though it's not the source of the infection? I want to see her MRI?"

"No, she's not your patient!" Tolkin looked at the monitors.

"One phone call to my nephew and I'm her doctor."

"Without privileges at this hospital. Nurse, let's get a cooling blanket on her now."

House, dripping with sarcasm, quipped, "You don't think I can get temporary privileges?"

Tolkin pursed his lips, knowing full well that the hospital would grant the world renown Gregory House privileges. "Fine, come with me, but what are you going to do with him?"

" I thought I'd leave him by the trash so when they take it out we can get rid of him."

The look Tolkin gave him was one of bewilderment.

"He's been discharged. Someone is coming to get him, but I can't just leave him lying around, can I?" House realized that if it had been any other kid, he would have dumped him at the nurses' station. Was this parental love?

They went to a small room where House reviewed the MRI. "The infection is in her kidneys. It's from the catheter."

"I'm going to switch her to a different aminoglycoside."

House shook his head. "You went through the cephlosporins, penicillin and one of the aminoglycosides…this strain is drug resistant."

"What do we do?" Tolkin asked.

"We use phage treatment."

"Bacteriophage? We don't do…"

House was steaming with frustration. "She has a 50% chance of living if we don't treat it. Seattle is testing a phage treatment for Pseudomonas aeruginosa…talk to them."

"How are we going to get it down here in time?"

"Fly it down, moron. _She's got the money-just put it on a plane and send it down here!"_

Clearly pissed, but resigned to the truth, Tolkin nodded and left the room. House wheeled the baby to the hall and was relieved to see Ann turning in circles trying to find them.

"Ann!"

"Greg!" She ran over.

"The bags are in the private room."

"Okay, you watch Michael while I load up his things and then I'll come back to get him. Here, put him in this." She handed House a baby carrier that latched into the car seat.

House rolled Michael to the waiting room and then hastily transferred Michael to the carrier, the baby giving him dirty looks as if he knew that House was pawning him off on someone. "Dude, I've got to save your Mom or we're both screwed."

Ann showed up fifteen minutes later, smiling at Michael. "Oh, he's so sweet. Okay, well, I'm going to stay at Kate's since she has the crib and baby things there."

"Thanks Ann, thanks."

"No problem. If I don't get going now it will be dark."

House nodded.

"Is Kate going to be okay?"

"I don't know."

Ann's face dropped. "She's not going to…"

House shrugged. "It's touch and go."

Her hand came up to cover her mouth. "Oh my God! I didn't think it was that bad. Is there anything I can do?"

"Take care of her baby."

Ann nodded and then walked away with Michael. House turned and went back into the ICU to be with Kate.

Tolkien walked over to House. "Seattle is sending it down by courier. We should have it in a couple of hours."

"If she lasts."

"Well, that's a given." Tolkin acknowledged.

House sat by Kate's side waiting for the treatment to arrive. It wasn't until he had time to contemplate the ramifications of her possible death that he realized he might soon be a single parent. There was a burst of adrenalin that shot through his body. What would he do? He couldn't raise him alone, he'd probably have to put the baby up for adoption…or maybe Ann would take him, raise him. Michael would have a lot of money, he could afford to pay her well and hire a full-time nanny. He thought about it and could feel the panic raise up inside of him. This sucked.

It was almost night before she was given the first bacteriophage, a group of designer viruses that would inject the bacteria with the phage's own genetic material, resulting in the death of the bacteria. It was 60% effective on antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. House's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Taking it out, the phone i.d. indicated it was from Cuddy's office.

"Can't talk, patient dying." House quipped.

"You have a patient? Where? Your contract…"

House hung up. The phone rang again. House didn't pick up. A text came through.

_Call me or you're fired. I'm not playing this game._

House looked at Kate and knew that it didn't matter. He didn't care if she fired him because right now, the most important person in his world needed him and he was going to be there for her. He waited ten minutes and then realized that he wanted to call Cuddy, wanted to rub it in that he had replaced her with someone…no, not someone, with _two someones._ He dialed.

"What?"

"You have a patient?"

"Yes and no. What do you want?"

"You have a patient coming in here. We need you to fly home."'

"No, it's not going to happen."

"_What? Are you trying to get fired?"_

"Look, the law entitles me to family leave at the birth of my child, right?" Twelve weeks, right?"

"House, stop screwing around." Cuddy clearly didn't believe him.

"I'll send you the birth certificate. Bye." He hung up. The phone rang back but he ignored it with a demonic smile on his face. House sat watching the monitor, but the fever only retreated down to 104° F. House rolled the chair next to her bed and spoke directly into her ear, "You need to wake up, we need to get your fever down. I want to give you an ice bath." No reaction. "Okay, I just want to give you a bath; it's been awhile since I've fondled an unconscious woman."

No response.

"When you get well, let's just get married. Why should we wait?"

No response.

"Damn it, wake up sweetheart, I'm bored."

No response.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**Early Morning August 21****st**

"Dr. House." The nurse put a gentle hand on House's arm.

At first he didn't remember where he was. It was one of those freaky moments when your heart flutters and you look around to get your bearings. He had crawled up in the bed next to Kate and gone to sleep. Jumping up, he was worried that something had happened to Kate. "What?"

"Sorry to wake you, but we need the bed."

House looked around and then over at Kate's vitals. Her temperature was down to 102°F. House sat up, rubbed his face and took a deep breath. As soon as he took the chair next to her bed people swept in to make up the bed he had just vacated. Kate moved, shifting her body in the bed, but not waking up. House stood and stretched, then walked over and took Kate's hand in his, admiring how tiny it felt, how small and vulnerable she looked in the bed. This fierce woman looked so fragile. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it softly.

She squeezed his hand.

House snapped his head back and looked at her but her eyes were still closed. "Kate? Kate? Come on Kate, wake up. I need you to entertain me. Come on sweetheart."

"Entertain you? What do you want me to do—juggle my intravenous bags?"

He grinned. "That's a good start. God, I'm glad you're awake. I thought I was going to have let Michael be raised by the wolves."

"Compared to you, isn't that a leg up?"

"I see you have your sense of humor."

"I feel like crap."

"You look like crap. You've been out for over twenty-four hours. You got an infection."

"Did they give me a hysterectomy?"

"No. I didn't think you needed it. The infection was in your urinary tract but you weren't responding to antibiotics so we used bacteriophage."

"Phage therapy?"

"Yep, down from Seattle."

"I'm impressed, but tired. I'd like to sit up and look at the baby. Where is he?"

"He's at your house."

"_By himself?"_

"Boy you really are groggy. Do you think I'd leave a newborn by himself? No, O.J. Simpson is taking care of him."

"Tell me the truth."

"Ann took him home and is staying with him."

"Ann? Really? That's sweet of her."

"Yeah, she's a real trooper. Daniel was going to come back tonight, but I told him to go home and get a good night's sleep. He said he'd go to your house and keep his mother company and take care of the animals."

"He's such a great kid. I really wish I could see Mikey."

"Mikey? You're going to call him Mikey?"

"Greg, he's a baby. Michael sounds too formal for a baby."

"Then let's call him Mike."

"Whatever. When do you think I'll get out of here?"

"Not for a few days. You've had major surgery and a major infection. They need to keep you on the treatment until you're free of infection, probably another five days."

"Five days? Without my baby?"

"I'll get Ann to bring him down to see you, okay?"

**Dear Readers: I know, this is short...I'll post more tomorrow.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

**August 22****nd**

"I can't wait to get home. They gave me Reglan to stimulate lactation and the doctor told me it would be a good idea if you could suck on my nipples to stimulate them."

House grinned and looked up to the sky for a second as they drove along. "There is a God."

"But I can't have intercourse yet."

"But you have a mouth."

She laughed. "Not a very subtle hint, but okay, I guess I can't ask you to suck on my breasts and expect you to remain clinically detached."

"There's one thing about your breasts, one look and I'm not detached."

"Oh, Greg, you're so sweet, you wax lyrical about my breasts and it makes me want to jump you."

"Great, maybe we can convince Ann to skiddadle when we get home."

"And what about Daniel?"

House had forgotten that Daniel had moved in to help too. "He's sleeping upstairs. I've set us up downstairs because the doctors don't want you going up and down stairs. We brought the cradle, the dresser and toys downstairs."

"All in the guest room?"

House snorted, "It's not like that room is tiny. It's humongous…like all the rooms in your house. Your guest room is the size of my living room."

They pulled into the long dirt drive. Stopping the SUV, House came around to the passenger side to help her walk into house. He put his free arm under hers and they began the walk into the house.

"Greg, I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what I 'd do without you."

He stopped and looked into her eyes. "I really care about you."

She gasped. "You do?"

"We've spent the last six days 24/7 together. We've talked about everything under the sun and I'm still surprised at what comes out of that little mouth of yours. You're brilliant and funny and way too beautiful for your own good. I really want to make a go of this. I think we would be good for each other."

"It means Michael is in your life…_really in your life_."

"I'm cool with that."

She latched onto his chest. "I care about you too. Now, let's go see our son."

They entered and found Steve and Daniel sitting at the breakfast table and Ann holding the baby as she rinsed out a bottle. They all turned around when they heard the latch.

"Kate! Greg!" Ann yelled. "It's so good to see you! How are you?"

The three of them rushed to the door to help Kate inside. House gratefully relinquished her arm to Steve and then collapsed in a chair next to the dormant fireplace. Kate was escorted to the sofa and then Ann placed Mike in Kate's arms.

"Aunt Kate, how are you?"

"I'm a little weak, but I'm off the pain meds and antibiotics."

"You're feeling happier, aren't you?" Daniel asked.

She hesitated. Looking around at the staring faces, she wondered, admitting she was happy—was that dishonoring her dead husband and daughter? Was it okay that she was happy? "Why do you ask?"

"Your eggs have faces."

She smiled. "Yes, I am happier. I know I shouldn't be, but I am."

Daniel shook his head. "Uncle Keith wouldn't want you to be sad all your life. He loved you too much."

"So what's happening between you two?" Steve asked.

House looked over at Kate and pulled the ring back out of his pocket, throwing it to her.

She rolled her eyes. "Very romantic." She opened the box and grinned. The ring was so beautiful. Slipping it on her finger she wiggled it up in the air.

"Wow! That's quite a ring. You're engaged?" Ann rushed over to look at the ring.

Steve blinked a couple of times. "You two are getting married?"

"You don't approve?" House asked.

"You have to admit it's odd. You're her brother-in-law and you've really only known each other a few weeks."

House looked over at Kate as if to ask, 'do you want to answer that?' Kate nodded.

"I know it seems soon, but Greg and I mesh, we're both pragmatic and we both know we've got our individual problems. But we want Michael to have both parents in his life."

"I didn't hear the word "love" in that sentence." Steve said, his eyes narrowed.

"Christ, obviously Kate and I have feelings for each other. We care very deeply. Is that enough?"

Daniel grinned, but his father scowled.

"I don't know how two people can get married when they've only known each other a few weeks and they can't even say, 'I love you'." Steve growled.

"Your brother asked me to marry him on the third night that I knew him. We were married two months later. I'm not saying that this is perfect or that we have all the kinks ironed out, but we have to try and make it work for the sake of our son."

Steve shook his head and shrugged before walking out the door causing both Daniel and Ann to look at their feet and swallow hard. Ann finally looked up and gave everyone a weak smile.

"He'll come around." She said.

"Ann, I love you, Daniel and Steve, but if he never comes to terms with it, I'm okay with that. I've paid my penance and now I need to move on with my life again."

House was pleased with her response, standing up and walking over to the other end of the sofa and grabbing her feet, putting them in his lap. He removed her shoes and began to rub her feet.

Daniel sat down in the chair that House had vacated. Ann took the chair next to the fireplace. They watched as House rubbed Kate's feet.

"I'm glad you came to your senses, Uncle Greg."

House could feel the hair on his neck bristle.

"What do you mean, Daniel?" Kate asked with a look of amused curiosity.

Grinning and not knowing the mine field he was walking into, Daniel blithely blurted out, "Uncle Greg only bought that ring because he wanted to give you something for the birth of the baby."

Kate didn't quite register what Daniel was saying. She looked at House, head tilted, forehead furrowed, and said, "I don't understand?"

House waved it off. "Who knows what goes through a teenager's mind."

Daniel was now confused. "But Uncle Greg, you were hoping that Aunt Kate wouldn't remember the ring when she woke up because it wasn't meant to be an engagement ring. Remember, you said—"

Ann jumped up, "Daniel! Why don't you come and help me in the kitchen?"

Daniel glanced at the looks on everyone's face. House's eyes were closed tight and he was biting his lower lip. His mother looked nervous, really anxious as she motioned for him to join her. But it was his Aunt Kate that worried him. She looked as if all the emotion had drained out of her, like the proverbial deer in headlights. Just one look at her and he knew he'd screwed things up royally.

"Aunt Kate…I'm sorry. I think it's great that you both want to get married."

Kate pulled her feet from House's lap. "I'm very tired; I think I'll go take a nap. Does Mike need to be fed or changed?"

Ann shook her head. "No, he was just fed and changed before you got here."

Kate took the baby and walked slowly into the guest room, putting Mike into the crib and then crawling into bed, her body wracked with silent sobs. House walked into the room and saw that her back was to him, but her shoulders were heaving.

"Kate, you can't believe that I'd buy a ring like that and not ask you to marry me?"

"Greg, just leave. Just go back to Princeton."

"I'm not going anywhere."

She sat up, her back still to House. Taking a deep breath, she took the ring off her finger and stood up. Walking around the bed and over to him, she tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Here, I appreciate the thought. It's a beautiful ring and I know why you bought it. The three stones represent the three of us. But, it's too much. I can't accept it."

"It's your engagement ring…you have to accept it."

She snorted. "It wasn't supposed to be my engagement ring; I could tell from your face that Daniel was right. We both know this was wishful thinking. Marriage is out of the question. Steve is right…we don't know each other. I mean look, I jumped to the conclusion that you were asking me to marry you. How stupid of me."

"I am asking you to marry me! I want to marry you."

"No, we're just reacting to all the drama we went through this last week. Once things settled down, we'd both wonder what we were doing and regret rushing into it. I really appreciate the fact that you were willing to step up, but we're old enough that we don't need to get married for you to be a part of the baby's life."

"Don't do this, Kate. I'm willing to get married!"

"Boy, that sounded romantic. You're willing, but not wanting…very different verbs."

He winced. "You know what I mean. I admit that I didn't consciously buy it as an engagement ring, but you have to admit that it looks like one…I must have unconsciously wanted to ask you, because it feels right now. I want to get married."

She tucked the ring into his fingers. "It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen, but you know I can't take it. Maybe someday, but not now."

"If I told you that I love you, would that make a difference?"

"You're just reacting to the drama and excitement over the baby. I think it would be best if you went home to Princeton so that I can get into a routine with the baby."

House could feel the hurt and anger welling up, but knew he shouldn't explode or he would alienate Kate. Still, his mouth engaged, "He's my baby too and you're sure as hell not going to keep me from him." As soon as it came out, he immediately wished he could take it back. House knew Kate was going to react to his tone, to the obvious underlying threat. But when he looked in her eyes it wasn't the fiery reaction he had expected. Kate looked disappointed, hurt, tired.

Walking around the bed again, she lay down and stared up at the ceiling. "Do what you have to do, Greg."

The wind went out of his sails and his threats. "So the "I care about you" was bull?"

She turned and looked at him, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Of course not. I do care about you, but you should know by now that caring about someone doesn't mean that you should be with them."

Heart beating faster and faster, House could feel himself losing the argument and losing everything with it. "Please don't send me away."

"Just for a few months while I get my sea legs. Then maybe Mike and I can come back to see you."

His voice became controlled as he tried not to give in to the emotions he was feeling. "Kate, please don't do this."

"Greg, please don't make me feel guilty."

He shook his head, frustrated and angry he clenched his teeth. "Fine, I'll get my things and leave."

She sat up on her elbows. "If you want to spend the night and leave tomorrow, you can."

Shaking his head. "I can't be near you like this. You may be able to control your feelings, but I can't." He started pulling his things out of the closet and dresser and throwing them into the suitcase, hoping she'd stop him and tell him that she had reconsidered—she would marry him.

Watching House pack, Kate started to regret her decision. She didn't really want him to go, but she was humiliated. In her mind, she had backed House into a corner with her hasty acceptance of a proposal that never was. Her hope was that a little time apart would give them time to think and maybe they would realize separately that they did need each other.

Once packed, he realized that he had turned in his car a week ago and didn't have a way to get to the airport. "I need a ride to the airport."

"Is Daniel out there?"

House shook his head. "They hightailed it out of here when we exited the room."

"Just take Keith's car and I'll make arrangements for someone from the company to drive it back."

"Thanks." House walked over to the baby and stood for a few minutes without saying anything. The impact of the moment had Kate in tears again. He finally reached down and lightly touched Mike's cheek and then turned to Kate. "Take care."

"Call me when you get home."

"Call you? I'm going home to get over you. Just let me know when I can see Mike."

"But I thought we might come out to see you."

"Kate, I don't think you get it. If we're not going to get married, then I can't be around you. If I come out here, I'll make arrangements for Ann to pick up the baby and he can spend some time with me—alone."

"_You're just trying to punish me!"_

"No, I'm trying to be honest. I want to marry you, but if you don't want to marry me then I'm not going to spend time wishing you would."

"I see. So, you can't give me the time I need?"

"So that I can wait on hook and tethers just to have you say no again? Thanks, but I'm not a yo-yo. You either want to commit to me, or I have to protect myself and move on; you're not the only one with emotions invested in this relationship." He put his backpack on his shoulder and opened the door. "Good bye, Kate." He rolled the carry on out of the bedroom and, after finding the keys to Keith's SUV, drove off into the summer afternoon.

Kate felt a rumble in her stomach and managed to find the toilet where she threw up several times until there was nothing more to heave. Leaning back on her legs she began to think about the day's events. _What have I done? My pride has cost me the man I love. I've got to get to the airport. I can't let him fly home like this. He has to give me another chance. _

Kate waddled back into the bedroom, her sutures making walking very uncomfortable. She slipped shoes on her feet and then turned to Mike, trying to figure out whether she could take him dressed as he was or if she was going to have to change him. He was only in a onesie so he needed more clothing. She found a little shorts outfit and dressed Mike, then put blue booties on him. And then her stomach started to rumble again. Leaving Mike in the crib, she ran to the bathroom where she threw up again. After washing her face, she packed a diaper bag and ended up in the bathroom again, throwing up until all that was left was green bile. _This isn't nerves, I'm sick. _Kate put her hand to her forehead. She was warm, not hot, but definitely running a fever.

_The last time I drove while I was sick I killed my child and my husband._ Kate walked out to the bedroom and sat at the foot of the bed. She couldn't bring herself to drive knowing she was running a fever. She called Daniel, but he wasn't picking up. Then she called House's cell, not sure what she could say to make him come back, but he didn't pick up either.

Michael started to cry and cry and cry. Kate felt overwhelmed. She couldn't get her head out of the toilet, couldn't find someone to help and had to say admit that she had just scared away the man she loved. To top it off, her son needed her. Kate, doubled over with stomach cramps, stumbled back to the bedroom and looked down at the crib and her crying son.

"Mike are you hungry, honey?"

Something stirred in her breast, something familiar. Her milk was letting down on its own. She placed Mike in the middle of the bed and then crawled up to take care of him, placing him to her breast. At first he grew frustrated trying to get milk out of a breast when sucking on a bottle was so easy, but eventually he stopped crying when the milk started to flow.

While Mike suckled, Kate dialed the hospital in Portland finally getting her obstetrician. By the time she hung up she had discovered that several patients in her ward had a norovirus. It was a virus that caused vomiting for several days along with a low grade fever and then usually went away, leaving the victim weak, but in general good health.

"What about Mike? If it's that contagious, he'll probably get it."

"Of course it's more serious in babies. Watch him; if he starts vomiting, the most important thing is that you keep him hydrated. I'm going to write a prescription for him to ease the vomiting that you can pick up if he gets sick. What pharmacy do you want to use?"

The closest pharmacy was over the rise at a little strip mall off of Route 26.

"Send it to Oregon Drugs."

"Fine. It will be there if you need it."

"Thanks."

Kate tried House again, but no response. She texted him.

_Wanted to stop you, but I've been sick. Please call me asap. _

But there was no response. What Kate didn't know was that House's phone was off. He'd managed to score a hop leaving from Portland for Los Angeles immediately which would allow him to catch the red eye from L.A. to Philadelphia. It was going to be a tight schedule requiring House to almost run from his gate to another when he arrived in Los Angeles. A golf cart had been arranged, but it was still tight because the plane arrived late.

House kept replaying the day over and over in his mind as he flew across the country. It seemed so full of joy and excitement when the day started out. Her admission of feelings had him feeling over the moon. And then it turned into a disaster with both of them taking positions that were intractable. But as much as he wanted, he couldn't blame Daniel who had truly been excited about them getting together. It had been House's own doubts that had come back to bite him in the ass.

In Philadelphia, House switched on his phone as he waited for a shuttle to take him to Princeton. The text message showed up. As he read it his reaction surprised even him. He was angry. He felt as if he was being jerked around. Did she really think he'd fall for the, "I'm sick—poor me" routine? Shaking his head, he climbed into the shuttle van and tried to sleep on the hour ride back to Princeton.

Kate was sprawled on the bathroom floor with Mike in a basinet next to her. She reached over and checked her cell phone again—no response. _Where is he?_

By mid-morning the vomiting had stopped and Kate had brought Mike into the queen size bed with her while she slept. He woke her a few hours later, crying to be fed, changed and played with. She finally managed to get him back to sleep which meant she could sleep too. Around noon, she checked her cell phone, but there was no response.

It was over.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

**It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year**

"He hasn't been back once to see his son so why should I make a detour?"

"Aunt Kate, it was all my fault. Please stop and see him. I know once he sees you again, he'll cave. He loves you."

"Daniel, let's get one thing straight, it's over between us. The only reason I'd even consider stopping in Princeton would be for him to see Mike and only if he asked. I don't believe in keeping Michael from his father, even if he is a jerk. But I'm not going to show up unannounced. I did that once and it blew up in my face."

"Please?"

"Honey, you know I adore you, but you can't keep blaming yourself. You did us a favor. Rather than get married and find out we were wrong for each other, we found out before we took the plunge. I'm grateful."

"But you _are_ meant for each other. You need to be with Uncle Greg."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Daniel, you're an incorrigible romantic. Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"I can't. I want to spend Christmas with Christine."

"I can't believe you're dumping me for a beautiful eighteen year old girl who adores you."

He grinned. "Sorry."

She reached around his shoulder and hugged him. "I'm not. She's a nice girl…just remember you're too young to get too serious."

"I know Aunt Kate. I start Princeton after I get my AA. I'm not going to jeopardize that."

Kate took a good look at Daniel. He was tall, had short cropped brown hair and deep brown eyelashes that trimmed the most gorgeous set of blue eyes you could ever want. He was six foot three and had gained some weight since the PBS transfer from House. She thought he was probably 180, maybe 190 with nice, toned muscles. His leukemia had stayed in remission and he seemed to be the epitome of good health.

Kate was getting ready to go back east to see her aunt in Philadelphia and then drive to her cousin's new house in East Orange, New Jersey. Since Kate's mother died and sister had joined an order in Puerto Rico, her aunt and cousin were the closest thing to blood family that she had.

"Aunt Kate, at least tell him that you're going to be on the east coast. He may not have called because he's been busy."

"Too busy to see his son?"

Daniel shrugged, unable to come up with a good excuse for House's behavior.

"Sorry, Daniel, but let's face it. Greg has no interest in me or his son. Now, since I'm not going to be here for Christmas, open your present."

Daniel took the gift and opened it. "Wow, that's too much Aunt Kate." Despite his protest, he immediately took the new Sony Vaio laptop out of the box and started it up. "This has everything!"

"You didn't open the box that was attached."

He grinned and ripped the box to shreds trying to unwrap it. "Sorry. Oh, man! A Nook!"

"You can download your textbooks onto it and take them everywhere."

"Ah, Aunt Kate, you're the best."

"Now, try to behave when you're staying here. If anything goes wrong with the animals, call Chuck." Chuck was the local vet.

"I know, I know. I promise not to have too many wild parties."

She narrowed her eyes, "Remember, I've inventoried my booze!"

He let out a good laugh and then hugged her.

Later that night, Daniel called House in Princeton, but House, too busy with a dying patient, didn't pick up. Not sure why he didn't get a response, Daniel went into action. First he set up a phony email address, _.com__, _and then he composed an email.

_Daniel told me that you were going to be back in this area for Christmas to see your aunt. I'd like to see you and Mike. Is there a chance you could stop by Princeton? I'm sorry that I haven't written or contacted you, but I've been very busy with patients. I'll explain when you get here. Please let me know when you're going to pass through Princeton._

_Love, Greg_

Daniel looked at the word, _Love_, and realized he might be pushing his luck too much. It was unlikely that his prickly pear uncle would go this long without contacting them and use the word, 'love.' He deleted it.

Kate was exhausted. She had just let her nanny go home and was settled down with Mike asleep in her lap after taking a bottle. He'd been weaned a month before and hadn't seemed to notice that the bottle wasn't a breast. She pulled up her email on her iPhone, expecting mostly mail from work and her sister. Her heart stopped when she saw something from .com. It wasn't the usual email address of , but it was probably because he sent it from work. Bringing the message up, she read it and shook her head.

"_Damn it, Daniel, you would tell him I was going to be back east!" _Kate screamed at the ceiling.

Still, he wrote that wanted to see them both, not just Mike. It wouldn't be right to keep Mike from his father—even if he wasn't paying any support or had made any effort to see him. She put Mike upstairs in his crib and then responded on her laptop in her bedroom.

_We're going to be passing through Princeton on December 24__th__ on our way to my cousin's in East Orange for Christmas. We could stop by around noon for a few hours. Perhaps we could have lunch._

_Kate._

While she was watching television, the reply came back.

_Sounds good. If I'm not at home, it means I have a patient, so just come to PPTH. _

_Greg._

Kate took in a deep breath and thought for a second before sending the next message.

_Fine, I'll see you on the 24__th__._

_Kate_

"You know this could backfire?" Christine warned Daniel.

"Even if it they get in a fight, it's better than this silence. At least they'll know where they really stand. At least I'll know it wasn't me and my big mouth."

Christine shook her head and gave him an empathetic smile, unconvinced that they were doing the right thing.

**Thanks so much for your reiviews, they really make my day.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

**December 24****th**

Kate hadn't slept the night before. She was both excited and anxious about seeing House again. The day was perfect, sunny but windy. The temperature was in the forties and snow was expected that evening meaning that Kate needed to leave Princeton before three pm to make it to her cousin's before the snow started.

She slipped into a pair of Levi's and a form fitting green sweater with a cowl neck. Her hair was cut short which emphasized her cheek bones and small, delicate features. She dressed Mike in the six month old outfit she had purposefully picked out for him to meet his father in. It was a Stewart plaid jumpsuit over a crisp white long sleeve turtleneck t-shirt with snaps on the shoulder for easy in and out. She added little black leather boots to complete the outfit. It had been a real job getting Mike into the outfit. He wanted to play and so he was grinning, squealing and thrashing the whole time. After tying the last boot on, she took a good look at him. He was so beautiful with reddish brown hair (what there was of it) and huge blue eyes. House's long face had been married with her petite one giving Mike the perfect oval with a nose that she was sure would end up not quite as large as House's and not quite as small as hers. She had been asked by a children's boutique in Portland if they could use him as a model, but she had refused until they told her they'd give him the clothes he modeled. After the photos came out in the local circulars offers poured in but Kate said no, she didn't really have time to run him down to Portland for photos.

Her aunt walked in just as Kate finished dressing the urchin. She was in her late sixties but looked like she was fifty-five at most. She went straight for Mike and picked him up.

"I could just eat him up. He's so gorgeous with his big blue eyes. His Dad must be one handsome man."

Kate shrugged.

"You're going to meet him today?"

"Yes."

"Did you call him?"

"I sent a confirming email two days ago and he wrote back that we were still on."

"I don't understand how men can just abandon their own children."

"I know. I expected a lot more from him." Kate admitted.

"You look very good in green; it goes with your hair."

"My hair?"

"Yes, it's blond, but it has a slightly reddish tinge."

Kate looked in the mirror and nodded. "I guess it does."

Her aunt nuzzled Michael. "We're leaving in an hour for Tara's. We'll see you sometime around four or five? Don't get caught in the snowstorm."

"I'm going to try and leave Princeton between two and three so I should be there between four and five, okay?"

Her aunt nodded.

At eleven, Kate put Mike in the rental car with the rental car seat and started for Princeton. She kept checking the rear view mirror to see how Mike was doing. At first he was playing with the little toy attachment to the car seat and then he stared out the window, but by the time they got to Princeton, Mike was sound asleep. She stopped by House's apartment, taking Mike out and sprucing him up before taking him inside the foyer. Knocking on the door, she waited and waited, but no one answered.

"Crap. He must be at the hospital, sweetie."

Michael was getting hungry and cranky. Kate didn't know if she should stop and feed him or drive over to the hospital first. She chose to drive and was sorry she did. By the time she got to the hospital, Michael was bright red from screaming for his lunch.

Kate took him out of his car seat, put him in his stroller and immediately popped a bottle in his mouth, hoping to appease him. After a few good sucks, she grabbed the diaper bag and headed into the hospital. She didn't want House to see his son with tears in his eyes and snot coming out his nose so she ducked into a bathroom. Kate finished feeding him, cleaned him up and took off his jacket so that everyone could see his little plaid jumpsuit. By the time they were ready to search for House, it was twelve-thirty, half an hour after the designated time.

Kate went straight to the front desk. "Hi, I'm here to see Dr. House, can you tell me where I can find him?"

"I'm not even sure he's in today. If he is, he'd be on the fourth floor in his office."

Kate suddenly felt nervous, like maybe she'd been played. Taking the elevator to the fourth floor, she started looking at the various offices. It turned out that his was down at the end of the hall. Looking inside, the light was off and no one was inside. Next door there was a short man sitting at a table next to a white board reviewing a file.

"Excuse me?" She had opened the door and stuck her head inside.

"Yes?" The slightly balding man responded.

"Is Dr. House here?"

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes, he was supposed to meet me at noon, but I was delayed."

"Well, he was here at noon, but he left about ten minutes ago. We just received notice that we have a patient being transferred up from Emergency so he should be back sometime in the afternoon."

"An hour?"

"Is there an emergency? I'm a doctor."

"Oh, I'm a doctor too and there's no emergency. I'm just supposed to be on my way in an hour, I don't know if I should wait."

"Well, maybe Dr. Wilson can help you find him."

"Wilson, I remember him talking about him. Where would I find him?"

"Next door, if he's still in. A lot of people are gone for Christmas."

"But not you?"

"Jewish…I was about to leave when we got notice of the new patient."

"Thank you for your help."

"May I tell House that you were here?"

"Oh, sure. Kate Monaghan."

"I'll let him know. You have a cute baby."

"Thank you."

Kate left and went around to the door marked, _James Wilson, MD, Oncology_. Knocking on the door she was surprised to hear someone tell her to come inside.

"Hello, Dr. Wilson?"

"Yes?"

"I hate to bother you, but do you know where Greg House is?"

He furrowed his brow and stared at the baby in the stroller. "And you are?"

"Kate Monaghan."

Wilson's mouth dropped open as he slowly stood up. "That's Michael?"

Kate smiled. "Yes, yes this is Mike."

Wilson came over and bent down to take a good look. The child had House's eyes and there was something even more familiar about the look of his face, but he also had a lot of his mother in him too. There was no doubt he was a good looking and very alert baby with a sweet smile.

"He's quite handsome. Did House know you were coming?"

"Yes, we exchanged emails. Unfortunately, we should have been here at noon and I was late."

"He didn't mention that you were coming."

"Oh?"

"That doesn't mean anything. House marches to his own drummer. I could call him, see where he's at."

"Please?"

"Sure."

Wilson took his phone out and speed dialed House.

"Yeah?" The gruff voice answered. Wilson could hear sounds of people in the background and thought that House might be in a restaurant or bar.

"Where are you?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Your noon appointment is here."

"Noon appointment? I don't have a noon appointment."

Wilson was starting to get nervous. "Are you sure?"

"Look, I'll be back in an hour. Cuddy just called and said I have a patient. Once they stabilize him in emergency he's being transferred up to me. Tell this person that I have no time for appointments; send them back down to Cuddy."

Wilson turned his back on Kate to have some privacy. "House, you're going to want to get back as soon as possible, it's Kate Monaghan and your son."

There was a deep silence and then a very loud, "Fuck. She always does this. Why doesn't she call?"

Wilson had to jerk the phone away from his ear because of the screaming. He whispered into the phone. "She said you exchanged emails."

"In her dreams. I never got any emails."

"Well, what do I tell her?"

"I'm coming in…"

There was a click. Wilson turned to face Kate and was about to speak but she was holding out her iPhone for him to read. Obviously, she had heard Wilson's end of the conversation.

"_See…here are the emails_." Kate said defensively.

Wilson looked and was surprised to see that House had sent emails, but then he saw the email address and felt sick to his stomach. "This isn't the PPTH address."

"What?"

"There's no nj in the address line and it's , not .com."

She was muddled. "Who would send this?"

"Someone who wanted you two to meet up."

Kate closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh, Daniel." A tear rolled down her cheek.

Seeing the tear, Wilson suddenly felt dreadful for this woman. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This was a horrible mistake. I shouldn't have agreed in the first place. I can't wait for him to come back; I'm supposed to be at my cousin's before the snow starts falling. Give him my sincere apologies. Thank you for your efforts, Dr. Wilson."

Wilson grabbed her arm as she turned to leave. "Please, stay. He talks about the baby all the time. I'm sure he wants to see him."

"He does? He never calls, write, doesn't send him anything. Basically, he's abandoned him. I thought this email was his way of reaching out to his son."

"He's been in bad shape. You really hurt him when you turned his proposal down. He's drinking more although we've managed to keep him from using Vicodin. But he's …" Wilson's voice tapered off.

"He's what?"

Wilson shook his head. "Please stay."

"I can't. It's obvious from that phone call that he not only didn't expect us, but doesn't really want to see us. I'm not going to subject him to seeing us when he doesn't want to. Thank you Dr. Wilson, Merry Christmas."

"Can I take a photo of the baby?"

She thought about it and nodded. Wilson took out his cell phone and got up close to Michael. Just when Wilson snapped the photo, Michael grinned at him. Wilson smiled at how sweet the baby looked in the photo.

"He's very photogenic."

"So I've been told. Again, Merry Christmas, Dr. Wilson."

"James."

"James."

She rolled the baby down the hall to the elevator and hit the button, tears rolling so fast down her cheek that she didn't have a chance to get a tissue from her purse. She wanted to throttle Daniel, she was so angry. When she reached the car she realized that she hadn't put the baby's jacket back on. She sat Mike forward and looked at him as she thread his arms through his jacket. He looked so sweet in his jumpsuit, so ready to meet his daddy. It seemed such a shame. She was sure he would have melted House's heart. That House would have committed to being a real father for his son. How could he not love this little creature with the big grin and happy squeals?

Wilson went to the balcony and looked around the parking lot, finally spotting her putting the baby in his jacket. House burst through the door and out on the balcony.

"Where is she?"

"There, in the parking lot, getting ready to leave."

"Leave? What the…?"

"She had emails telling her that you wanted to see them. When I told her that the email address was wrong, she said something about Daniel sending them."

House scoured the parking lot. "Where?"

Wilson pointed to Kate's car. House took off as fast as he could through the office. Wilson stood on the balcony and watched as Kate hooked the baby into the car seat and then climbed into the driver's side. After setting her GPS she drove off. Seconds later House appeared in the parking lot looking for her, his head dodging back and forth.

Wilson felt sorry for him. The big show he made of not caring, not wanting to be a part of his son's life had just been shown to be the sham it was. House cared—too much. House turned and came back into the hospital, a few minutes later he was back in Wilson's office.

"Why didn't she wait?"

"She was embarrassed. When she realized that you hadn't sent the emails and you were angry that she was here, she left."

"Angry? Did you tell her I was angry?"

"No, but she could here you scream through the phone and my responses to your questions were a dead give away too."

House's posture collapsed. "I wasn't upset, I was frustrated with her not calling. Why was she here on the east coast?"

"The email said that she was visiting her aunt and cousin for Christmas."

"In Philly?"

"No, she had replied in her email that she was going to be going to her cousin's in East Orange."

"Damn it." House went over to the sofa in Wilson's office and sat down.

Wilson walked over to the couch and opened up his cell phone, pushing the photo of Mike into House's face. House pulled back to focus on the screen and then paused. He reached out and took the cell phone in his hand and stared at it.

Wilson was moved by House's reaction. He clearly wanted to know his son. "He's a cute kid, a happy kid. He smiled and laughed the whole time he was here."

House said nothing as he looked at his son.

"Do you know where this cousin lives?" Wilson asked.

"No, not really." He thought for a second. "But I'll try to call Kate." He flipped his phone out and dialed her cell.

Kate wasn't sure what she was feeling. She had so many emotions rolling through her it was hard to hang on to one and ride it out. She was angry with Daniel for the trick he'd played. But probably more prevalent was the embarrassment and humiliation of having shown up where she wasn't wanted—_again!_ Driving along, she tried to subdue all of the emotional pain and tears. Just when she managed to suppress the feelings of embarrassment, her sadness and disappointment for her son would bubble up- sadness for the little boy whose father had clearly been upset that they had shown up to disturb his world. She felt stupid for having spent so much time on deciding what Mike should wear in the hopes that his dad would be happy to see him and want to spend more time with him…as if clothes could do that. Then, in the background, under all these competing feelings, was the deep seated feeling of defeat and the loss of her dreams that she and House would somehow patch things up and become a loving family. She heard her cell ring.

"Hello?" Kate answered through the car's hands free telephone system

"Kate?"

There was dead quiet.

"Kate, please come back. I want to see y...Mike."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"I heard your response to finding out we were in town."

"It was because it was a surprise…again!"

"One of Daniel's little jokes. I can assure you that I wouldn't have come if I hadn't believed I was invited."

"Well, he meant well." House admitted.

"Perhaps, but once again I'm humiliated."

"I'd really like to see Mike."

"I'm expected up at my cousin's. I need to get there before the snow starts to fall."

"Which cousin are you going to?"

"Tara, Tara Rice."

"Rice?"

"Husband's last name." She explained.

"Can't we just meet up for a few minutes?"

"I could probably meet up with you this evening; can you come to East Orange?"

"It's Christmas Eve." He moaned, but then realized this was the wrong thing to say. She had flown all the way from Portland and all she was asking was for him to travel an hour up the road.

"Well, then I'm afraid it's not in the cards. I fly home the day after Christmas."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"I have a patient coming in, but if I can I'll try to get up there tonight."

"Uh, okay, but the family has plans to have dinner together at seven. So I couldn't see you between seven and nine. After that, Mike will probably be asleep."

"Doesn't really give us much time together, does it?"

She swallowed and shook her head even though he couldn't see it. "No, I guess it really wouldn't be worth the effort."

He could feel it all slipping away again. "No, I guess not."

She wanted him to say he'd make the trip anyway, that he'd take half an hour of time with them over no time at all, but the conversation died and silence reared its ugly head.

"Well, I hope you have a great Christmas, Greg."

"You too. Give Michael a hug for me. I'll try and send him something when I have the time to shop. Are you good for money?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"If you need money, just let me know and I'll set something up."

"We don't need your money, Greg." _We need your love._

"Fine." He said with an edge. "I was just trying to help."

"I know, I'm sorry. I've got to go. Bye, Greg."

"Bye."

House flipped the phone closed.

"You stupid idiot. You flunked." Wilson yelled.

House furrowed his brow. "_Flunked?"_

"_You idiot! You should have told her you'd come up even if you were only able to spend a few minutes with her."_

"Why do that? Why drive an hour to spend five minutes and then drive home?"

"Because you love them? She wants to hear that you'd do anything to spend time with her and the baby…you flunked."

House understood but didn't want to admit that Wilson was right. "She's a practical woman. She understands."

"No, she doesn't. She'd walk over coals to spend time with her child."

House rolled his eyes and walked out. But he knew Wilson was right. Walking back into his office, he found Taub sitting in the next room. He motioned for him to come into his office.

Taub, looking bored and tired, walked in and sat down. "You rang?"

"This new patient, what do we know?"

"They're sending the file up but apparently they're having trouble stabilizing his heart rhythm. Once they do, we'll get him. But from what I've heard he's having problems in his stomach and it's caused a stroke."

"Okay…the two non-Christians are here, where's the fish people?"

"Foreman and Chase are half way around the world and Masters is in New York with family. She offered to come back, but I told her not to, that we could handle it."

"That was very Christian of you."

"Do you want me to call her in?"

"No. I just have some place to be. Get me his file."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 33**

**Who's Zooming Who?**

House waited half an hour and was surprised to see Taub show up without his lab coat. "What's going on?"

"He died."

"What?"

"The patient died…they couldn't get him stabilized—" Taub was going to give him more information but House was already grabbing his back pack and coat and headed for the door. Taub tossed out a, "Merry Christmas, House."

"Mazel tov, Taub."

As he exited the elevator he ran into Wilson who was standing in the lobby watching the hospital children sit on Santa's knee and receive their donated presents. Wilson was surprised to see him in the lobby. "House! What's going on?"

"I'm off to East Orange."

"You can't; you have a patient."

"Dead, ho, ho, ho." Looking over at Santa, House asked, "Hey, does Santa have presents for infants?"

"Yeah, they're in the blue ducky paper."

House ran over and grabbed a blue ducky papered box and hobbled quickly for the door. Security looked to Cuddy for her reaction. She looked at Wilson.

"It's for his son…let him go."

Cuddy shook her head to let security know that they didn't have to go after him. She walked over to Wilson. "I still can't believe that he willingly fathered a child."

"He did it for his brother. It was the only way he knew that he could keep Kate alive when he left. It was a pretty selfless act considering House isn't exactly your first choice for fatherhood."

"Actually, he was great with Rachel once he warmed up to her. So she's in town with the kid?"

"East Orange, to see her cousin. I hope he can find her. I don't think he really knows where her cousin lives."

"I think I'm hurt. He did this for her, a virtual stranger and yet he couldn't be this self-less for me?"

"It's different. You two have a history."

"Is she worth it?"

"I only met her briefly, but I can see why he's attracted. She's very pretty and she has this presence…like she's self-efficient, independent, but vulnerable."

"I'm self-efficient and vulnerable."

Wilson shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I just have this feeling that she's the one for him. She has few expectations of him. She was married to his brother who was apparently a lot like House."

"I had few expectations of him."

"Lisa—who are you kidding? You wanted him to change the minute you slept with him. I understand why you wanted him to change—_needed him to change_, but you and I both know it was your expectations that ended the relationship."

Cuddy pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose. She knew Wilson was right but she still couldn't admit that she was one of those women who thought she could change her man through the love of a good woman-her. She even remembered the day she told him that she wanted him just the way he was and knew, even then, that it had been a lie.

House drove back to his place to find the brown paper package. It took ten minutes but he finally found it in the bottom drawer of his dresser. He grabbed a gym bag and threw underwear, socks, t-shirt, shirt and toiletries in it—just in case. As he started for the door he stopped turned and ran into the bedroom, grabbing a few rubbers—just in case—and left.

Kate reached the East Orange Ramada Inn at three-thirty and checked in. Her cousin had a modest middle-class three bedroom house and was already housing her own family of four, her mother and mother-in-law. Kate didn't want to add to the stress of her cousin by taking up room and standing n line for the bathroom, and frankly, she needed time away from the chatter and bustle created by so many people in such a small house. She loved her family, but after so much 'togetherness' at one time, she yearned for the quiet and solitude of her home in the woods.

The cell phone rang, but Kate was in the middle of a much needed shower after soothing Mike, who had experienced a long overdue meltdown from all the traveling. She waited until he was napping before stepping into the comfort of the warm water on her shoulders and didn't hear the phone ring. After taking her shower she got ready for her cousins and then turned her attention to Mike, changing him too.

House, having arrived in East Orange a little after five, stopped and searched the white pages for Tara Rice, but didn't find her in the phone book. He found the main police department and convinced Police Sgt. Faulkner that he was Tara Rice's cousin's physician, had lost Rice's address and had to find Tara's cousin, Kate Monaghan, because her blood tests came back positive for tuberculosis. He needed to notify her and give her a prescription. The Sergeant, after seeing House's identification from PPTH, managed to run Tara Rice's address through the DMV and found her. He gave it to House, who left with a smile on his face.

Kate drove the two miles to her cousin's house and unloaded Mike from the back seat. She had put him into a cute white turtleneck with reindeer all over it. Over the turtleneck was a red felt vest with mistletoe on it. Topping it off was a pair of green corduroy pants. She rang the doorbell and grinned when her favorite cousin opened it. They both giggled with delight and had an awkward hug around the baby carrier.

"Is this Mikey?" Tara said in the characteristic high voice used to greet babies.

"Yes."

"Oh, isn't that outfit adorable? Mom, it's Kate and the baby!"

Her aunt walked out from the kitchen with a pan and dishtowel in her hand. "Oh, wonderful! You made it!"

"Yes."

"How's the Ramada?"

"Fine."

"And Mike's father?"

Kate's face dropped. "We didn't get to see him. Turns out that my nephew had sent phony emails hoping to get us together. He wasn't home."

Her aunt's looked as disappointed as Kate felt. "Oh, honey, that's a shame. I know you were anxious about it. Well, it's his loss, isn't it? He's missing out on a gorgeous little boy." She said as she smiled down on Mike.

Tara patted Kate on the back. "Please, come on in." Kate went into the living room and was introduced to several of Tara's in-laws. She found an empty corner and put her things down, taking the baby out of the carrier and putting him on a blanket in the middle of the floor. He demonstrated his new found talent of rolling from his front to his back and making raspberry sounds. His reward was a round of applause and laughter. He grinned and squealed.

"Is he sleeping through the night?" Tara asked.

Kate nodded. "He's 26 inches long and 15 pounds, well over the 90th percentile in height and he's sitting up with pillows supporting his waist. He loves to gum his toys."

"Well, we'll be eating in about fifteen minutes. Sit back and relax. Would you like something to drink?" Tara asked.

"Diet coke?"

"Sure, does Mike eat real food?"

Kate grinned. "I've just started giving him some cereal and juices."

The doorbell rang. Tara looked around as if she was doing a head count of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Shrugging when she realized that everyone was present, she went to answer the door. Kate pulled Mike to his feet and let him bounce up and down on his legs, something he loved to do. Tara walked in, her eyes bugged.

"Kate there's someone here for you. He's in the hall…I think he's Mike's Dad."

"It can't be, he doesn't know where…"Her voice trailed off as House impatiently walked into the living room.

"I'm sorry, but Kate can I see…" His eyes went to Mike and his mouth stopped working. His heart pounded hard against his chest. The baby was grinning up at him with his own eyes. "He's gotten big."

"He's four months old now. Greg, you have to leave, this isn't my home." She looked around at all the eyes on her.

"Just five minutes…can we go somewhere, just five minutes?"

Kate turned to her aunt. "Can you watch Mike?"

"Sure."

Kate led House outside onto the front lawn. Turning with her arms across her chest she faced him. Eyes glued on her, House started to approach her but she stepped back and her hand up.

"Greg, just tell me what you have to say. I have to get back in there, we're going to eat."

"I want to spend time with you and Mike. I drove up to be with you. Can we please go somewhere?"

Shaking her head she said. "No, I flew out to see my family and they've made this dinner and invited all my cousins—"

The front door opened and her aunt stuck her head out. "Kate, we've put another chair at the table. You two come in and get out of the cold, dinner is ready."

House grinned and chirped, "Thank you, we'll be right in."

Her aunt closed the door.

"No! You're not going to make this dinner about you."

He held up his hand to promise. "I promise to behave." He took a few steps towards her but didn't touch her. "I just want to spend time with you and Mike…please."

She looked into his eyes, wondering what was really going through his brain. "What about your patient?"

"I told Cuddy that I needed to spend time with my family."

"_You left a patient to come see us?"_

"My team can deal with it, that's why I have a team."

She shook her head, surprised and impressed that he would actually leave a patient to be with them. An unexpected sigh of resignation escaped from her chest. "We better go in before they send out the men folk to strong-arm me."

"I love the way you say 'men folk'."

Walking back in, Kate blushed when she saw that the entire family was waiting, staring at them. The table was actually two put together that extended out into the family room. Between two empty seats was Mike in his carrier, sitting on a tall end table that had been put purposefully there to hold him. House sat on one side and Kate on the other. Tara's husband began to carve the turkey.

"Greg, can we call you Greg?" Aunt Molly asked.

House nodded.

"I hear you practice in Princeton?"

"Yes, at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital."

"You must be busy." Molly suggested.

House felt like he was walking into a trap. "Yes, I have been."

"Then that must explain why a man could just abandon his own son." Molly said without inflection.

House clenched his eyes shut and smiled guiltily. "She did tell you that I begged her to marry me, right?"

Molly looked at Kate with surprise.

Kate put down the bowl of mashed potatoes and shook her head. "It's a long story, but let's just say his proposal was rather murky in origin."

"Murky? I begged you." House said with some indignity.

"Greg, I'm not going to argue with you at this table."

"Well, you've certainly told your Aunt that I'm the villain. She should know the facts before she condemns me as a deadbeat dad."

"Which you are." Kate said, putting a spoon of potatoes in her mouth.

He turned, eyes filled with laughter, mouth wide open in shock. "Deadbeat dad?"

"You haven't paid any support."

"You're a millionaire, what do you need with money? Besides, I told you that if you needed money, I'd pay and you said no thank you."

"That was today on the phone. Where was the offer four months ago?"

The entire table was engrossed in the conversation except for Mike who was busy gumming a banana that Aunt Molly had given him.

"You want my money? I'll give it all to you. Every penny. Everything I have."

Kate felt foolish. House was right, she didn't need his money, she didn't need his possessions; she just needed his support. "I don't want your money."

"You don't want my money, my love, my engagement ring…what do you want?"

All eyes turned to her.

"For you to shut up and let me enjoy my dinner."

House thought for a minute. "Fine."

"Kate! He's our guest. You need to mind your own manners." Molly warned.

Kate looked up like a scolded child. "Sorry."

"Yeah, you should be nice to me, I'm your guest."

Kate hissed, "Uninvited guest."

He grinned. "You look good; you've got some meat on your bones."

"Are you calling me fat?"

He threw his head back and shook it. "No! I ask you all, does she look fat?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"See! See! You look hot. She looks hot, right?"

The men all nodded.

Kate blushed. "Greg, just eat your meal. I promise that if you just eat your meal in silence I'll go have coffee with you."

He didn't say another word. Everyone else went back to their meals and normal conversation. After dinner was over, Kate helped clear the tables, but was then gently pushed out of the kitchen.

"His visit is your Christmas present, don't blow it." Aunt Molly said. "He's here and he _wants _to be here. Stop getting in your own way."

Kate walked out to the living room where House had already picked Michael up and was examining him. "He's not a patient, he's your son."

"He keeps blowing raspberries at me. I don't think he likes me."

"Raspberries is his favorite thing to do with his lips right now. He's just learning how to use his voice and form certain sounds."

"Well, in between the raspberries he grins a lot. Are you sure he's my son?"

"Only when he cries or throws a tantrum."

"Shall we go for coffee?"

"And then you'll go home and leave us alone?"

"I never promised that."

Kate realized that she really didn't want that either, but her pride wouldn't let her admit it.

"Okay, let me get my coat. Aunt Molly, do you mind watching Mike? He should get a bottle and then go down for the night. I'll pick him up and take him to the hotel as soon as Greg and I are done, okay?"

"_Take your time."_ Aunt Molly said with emphasis.

"Thank you."

Kate grabbed her purse and jacket and they left. As they walked towards the car House asked, "You have a hotel room?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I doubt we're going to find a restaurant close by that's open on Christmas Eve."

"The restaurant at the Ramada Inn is open, we can go there, but not to my room."

"Okay, we'll go there."

They started to drive to the restaurant, Kate giving him directions. House took a deep breath and ventured a compliment. "You really do look great. You look healthier, happier."

Kate thought about it and nodded. "I'm enjoying being a mother again. He's such a different baby from Maxi. Maxi was much more hands on. You'd expect him to be more demanding considering you're his father, but he's really laid back or maybe I'm more laid back. As a first time Mom, I really thought I had to solve all of Maxi's problems…even those that weren't problems."

"So you're doing well?"

"Oh, it's overwhelming at times. I have a nanny who comes in three days a week and I have him in daycare at the center next to the hospital the other two days a week. I'm always tired…I don't seem to get a break."

"So, that's my fault?" It slipped out before he thought about it.

"Oh, God. This is a mistake."

"What is?"

"You asked me how I was doing. I was being truthful; I wasn't trying to blame you. Being a single mother is hard for any woman. Greg, I'm sorry that we were thrown together like this. Daniel may have meant well, but we would have been better off if you had stayed ignorant of our trip to the east coast."

House, frustrated and annoyed, blew air out of his cheeks. "Maybe ignorance is bliss, but we're here, let's try and catch up."

"Fine."

**We have about 8 chapters left. I really appreciate the kind reviews. They make my day. **


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

**Christmas Gifts**

They walked into the restaurant that was adjacent to the Ramada Inn, a Denny's-like diner with a multitude of specials on the menu. House ordered coffee and Kate ordered hot chocolate with whipped creme.

"Well, here we are." Kate said, trying to encourage him to talk.

"Tell me about Mike."

She chuckled. "Why? When we leave here, you're going to go back to Princeton and Mike and I are going back to our world. Nothing will have changed. It hurt that you didn't call me back after I sent that text telling you that I tried to stop you, but that was nothing to the hurt I felt for our son when I realized after a few months that his father had written him off too."

"Did you ever think how hard it was on me? I was trying to get over you. How can I do that and still call you on a weekly basis to find out how Mike is? Maybe you can do it, but I needed space. I would have eventually asked to be a part of his life; I just couldn't do it yet."

"You're an adult, Greg, get over yourself. That child needs a father more than you need space. But don't worry, I've been dating a nice guy and he doesn't seem to mind that I have a baby."

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

"_Excuse me?"_

"Daniel's right, you do have a tell and you're bluffing. You're not dating anyone."

"I am too." Kate insisted. The reality was that she had been dating two guys, neither of which was serious or that frequent. She just went out because she needed time away from being a single mother. She had reluctantly accepted their offers of dinner and a movie, but there had been no sex in the bargain.

"Okay, maybe you're dating, but you're not serious."

"Fine, don't believe me. Are you seeing anyone?"

"Yeah, there's the woman who charges $1,000 an hour and the other that charges $800 but won't kiss on the mouth."

"Oh God, Greg."

House could see her disgust and felt sheepish. He needed to come clean but it was obvious that she had moved on and hated him. Nothing was said as they sat at the table drinking from their mugs. He knew he should tell her he loved her, but she didn't seem open to it.

"I have a gifts for you and Mike." He blurted out.

"You do?"

He nodded. "In my car."

"I have one for you too, in my suitcase."

House grinned. "You do?"

"Don't get excited, it's nothing big. In fact, I doubt you'll like it."

"I want to see it." He said.

"Fine."

"I'll get mine from the car and we'll go up and get yours."

"I can bring it down."

"You shouldn't open mine in public." He lied.

"Oh."

They went back to his car and he pulled the brown sack from the trunk and the ducky print wrapped one from the back seat. They went up to her room and she placed her suitcase on the bed, unzipped it and handed the red foiled package to him.

"Here. Merry Chrstmas." Kate said sheepishly. She was pretty sure her choice of gift would be considered lame by House, but it was too late now.

House handed the brown paper bag to her. She saw that the markings on the bag were from a book shop in Portland.

"Portland? You bought this in Portland?"

"Yeah, when we went shopping."

"Why?"

"I was excited about the baby. I wanted you to have something special."

She felt a lump rising up in her throat. "You open yours first."

"No, you open first."

"We'll do it together."

He sat down on the bed and patted for her to sit next to him. She did.

They looked at each other and then opened the packages. Kate unveiled her gift first seeing the dust jacket, _Good Times Bad Times. _She gasped, "I love this book…how did you know?"

"Look inside."

She opened the book and saw that it was a first edition, signed by James Kirkwood. "Oh, Greg, this is so—" She had to take a deep breath. "Don't open mine."

He was about to take the lid off the box. "Why?"

"It's nothing in comparison to this." She grabbed the box and pulled it from his hand. He pulled it back and began to open it. "Greg, please, let me get you something else."

He laughed at her as he opened the box. Inside was a photo of Mike and Kate. An artistic photo of her in a shoulderless top holding a shirtless Mike as they smiled at each other. It wrenched his heart how beautiful it was and how much he loved both of them. His hand went up to his eyes as he tried not to show emotion.

"See, I knew you'd hate it. You're laughing."

"No, I can't stand the fact that you're not in my life. It's great…it's beautiful. You two look perfect in it." He put it down on the night stand and turned, grabbing her up into his arms and pushing her back on the bed. He hesitated, looking down at her, trying to determine if she wanted it. Her eyes were wild. Was she scared or was she afraid that he wouldn't kiss her? His lips parted and he put his mouth over hers, his tongue caressing hers, his hand caressing her cheek, then her shoulder, then her breast.

She pulled his shirt off his shoulders in an effort to get it off. Her needs had taken over and she no longer cared about her pride. She wanted him inside her, on her, touching her. House met her needs with his own; pulling her sweater over her head, revealing the rise of her breasts over the lace of her bra. His shirt came off and then the t-shirt while she was pulling and tugging on his belt, unzipping his pants, yanking them down as fast as she could. House stood up, using his feet to push the sneakers off each foot, dropping the unfastened jeans to the floor while Kate leaned back on the bed and undid her own jeans. House grabbed the pant legs and pulled them off her reclining body revealing the matching red bikinis to the red lace bra.

He stood over her, standing between her knees and looking down, admiring the new curves that had flushed out her previously angular body. He reached down and stroked her thighs, smiling at how smooth and soft they were.

Kate shuddered from the feel of his fingers drawn against the flesh of her thighs, the electricity transmitting straight to her groin, her vagina responding with the release of fluids. She looked down and watched as he dragged his boxers over his already engorged cock, dropping them to the floor. His erection was hard, red and wet from the semen that had seeped and had wetted the head of his shaft.

Kate slid her straps over her shoulders and then unlatched the bra, pulling it off. House exhaled long and hard, his erection stiffening. The blood surged through his body to his groin at the sight of the round plump breasts and the deep pink nipples hard with excitement. He stepped back so he could pull the lace panties off revealing a sparse patch of dark blond pubic hair that he touched gingerly, the course hair hiding the soft mound underneath it. His finger slipped between her labia, finding the entrance to her sex. Warm, wet and sticky, he nodded with approval.

Kate wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him to the bed and causing him to fall forward, laughing. He pulled her up onto the bed so that his legs would be supported. They both scrambled to pull the bedding back.

"You're wet and horny…just the way I like my women." He reached under her left knee and lifted it up so he could enter her.

He thought about protection, but it was down in the car and she was here, wet, legs spread, ready for him. There was no hesitation on her part, she grabbed his erection and guided him in. He moaned as he slipped inside like fingers in a tight glove. The friction of their melding made him shudder with pleasure. He could smell her perfume mixed with her musk, a sweet smell that only drove him deeper and faster.

"Christ, this isn't going to last long," he confessed as he continued to pound between her legs.

"I don't think I will either." She tilted her pelvis up to take him even deeper.

House moaned as he thrust the full length of his shaft. "Oh, yes. Ah." The sensation in his balls was like an electrical jolt. He moaned as he climaxed over and over, the energy leaving his body in every stroke. As he pulled out, he rolled to the side and slipped his fingers between her legs and began to rub her clit.

"In, in, in." She begged.

He slipped his finger inside while still teasing her nob with his thumb. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the tingling and buildup of the congestion in her groins. House leaned into her ear and whispered.

"I love to watch you when you're in the middle of an orgasm. Your whole body responds. I love how hard your nipples get. I can't wait to fuck you again."

His breath on her ear, the low, masculine sound of his voice, the smell of his musk and the desire in his words made her body explode. Every nerve ending sparked, the congestion in her groin broke free like water through a dam and her body shuddered with each wave of her orgasm.

House watched her skin flush pink, felt the fluids in her vagina drip, her nipples harden, and her body quiver as she moaned. When it was over, she gently pushed his hand away.

Trying to catch her breath, she shook her head and laughed. "Oh, that made my day…no, it made my Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." House said.

"I love my book. That was so thoughtful."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"I do. Sorry about your gift."

"You are joking, right? I wouldn't exchange it for an original Crossroads record. Well…maybe not an original Crossroads record, but definitely an original Cream album."

Kate chuckled and turned so that she could cuddle with House. He tucked her under his arm and closed his eyes reveling in the feel of her body next to his and worried that he'd do something or say something that would ruin it.

"Greg?"

"Hmmm?"

"Now what?"

"You move to Princeton."

"I told you that my family and home are in Oregon."

"Please, please don't get defensive. I just meant that we have to figure out where to live."

Depression sunk in so quickly, Kate didn't realize that her body had collapsed into itself. House immediately knew something was different.

"Kate? Sweetheart? We're going to figure this out. If I have to move to Oregon and live off your millions, I will."

Kate laughed at his black humor. "Live off my millions? I just paid another $200,000 dollar hospital bill for Daniel."

"What? He's sick again?"

She shook her head. "No, it was just the last of the bills from his stem cell transfer. I've paid their deductable."

"Do they know that?"

"I don't think they do, but Daniel does, he went to accounting and asked about the protocol that he was in and how the billing worked. The woman who researched it told him he wasn't on a protocol and that the bills were being paid by me."

"Protocol?"

"I told his parents that his treatment was experimental and the deductible was being paid for through the drug company. It was Keith's insurance money; he would have wanted it used on Daniel."

"Hey, I'm cool with that. I like the kid."

"I better get back and pick up Mike."

"I'll wait here."

"You're going to spend the night with us?"

"Yeah, is that okay?"

"I'd love it."

Kate went to pick up Mike and had to stay to give the family an explanation of what had transpired after they left. She left out the sex, but told them about the gifts. She even mentioned that he was spending the night and they invited House to Christmas the following day. Kate packed up a sleeping Mike and took him back to the hotel.

Inside the room, House had taken a couple of the little bottles of Jack Daniels out of the small refrigerator and poured himself a double. He was on the bed, nude, a sheet over him and watching television. Kate walked in with a very groggy Michael.

"He woke up."

"Good, he can open his gift."

"Does this look like a baby that can open his gift? We'll do it tomorrow at my cousins; you're invited."

"Great. Your cousin is a great cook."

She put Michael in the middle of the bed between them. "Don't drink anymore; I don't want you to roll on him."

"I'm wide awake, I can see him."

"No, I mean that he usually sleeps in my bed."

"He has a crib-you did bring something for him to sleep in, right?"

She shook her head. When I travel, he just sleeps with me."

House frowned and then nodded to himself. "He can sleep in the carrier."

"No! He's not going to sleep strapped into a car seat."

"How are we going to have sex with a baby between us?"

She shrugged.

Michael was changed and placed in the middle of the queen bed. House looked down at Mike and discovered the baby was scrutinizing him too. It was a Mexican standoff and House was the first to blink.

"Oh, you're good." He said to the baby.

"Yes, he can win a stare down any day."

"He's a good looking kid- for a baby."

"He's a male model. He modeled some clothes for a boutique catalogue."

"Really? He's already supporting himself? You think he'd mind supporting his old man?"

"I'm sure that's the first thing he'll do with his money—pay for your hookers."

"I won't need hookers; I'll have free sex…that is if I don't have a baby in the middle of the bed trying to take away my action."

"He's going to be a heartbreaker. He's very bright."

"What he scored high on his SATs?"

"No, but he's way ahead of the curve."

"I don't get it, has he started building block castles?"

"No, but he's turning over, responding to cues, just…he's ahead of the curve."

"You know I've had time to recover. If we can get the munchkin to visit the land of nod, I think I could make you moan again."

Kate was more than up for the task, but trying to find a place for the baby to sleep was next to impossible.

"Are you willing to get a little rug burn?" She asked.

"You want me to screw you on the ground?"

"I can make us a nice palette. Or shower sex?"

"Why not put him in the carrier until we're done and then we can transfer him back to the bed?"

Kate thought about it. "Okay, as long as he doesn't stay in the carrier all night long."

"As much as I'd like to—I doubt I can last in the saddle all night long. I need my beauty sleep."

Kate looked down at Michael and smiled, he was asleep. "I'm going to try and move him to the carrier but it's usually 50/50 whether I wake him."

"I'm crossing my toes."

Kate lifted Michael and managed to transfer him back to his carrier which she sat gingerly on the floor and then put a receiving blanket over him. She grinned at House when Michael didn't wake up.

"Oh My God…he must be really tired!" She whispered.

"Great. Now get those knickers off, I'm going to take you from behind."

Kate started undressing again, her shoes, socks and jeans already off, but then she slowed down, playing with the hem of her sweater. She teased House, pulling the sweater up ever so slightly.

"Sweetheart, I know you're trying to be playful, but I did see that body just a couple of hours ago."

"You want the clothes off."

"Yesterday."

She shrugged and pulled them off, doing a little shimmy with her breasts when the bra came off.

"Now that I like. Bring them over and shake that tail-feather."

Kate crawled onto the bed, smiling and giggling.

"You're different from when we first met."

She crawled between his legs, leaning her breasts on his stomach, putting her elbows on the bed, holding her head up on the palms of her hand to look at him. "How? And is it good or bad?"

"You laugh now. Once you found out that you were pregnant it's been like a veil has been lifted."

"Good or bad?"

"Good. You're funny, more alive. I don't feel like I have to walk on eggshells around you."

"Greg, you never walked on eggshells."

"True, but your skin is thicker…and plumper."

"Watch it, I'm lying over your lovely little package; I'm liable to do something to them."

"What, tickle them?"

"No, I could smother them between my ample breasts."

"Ample breasts? Katie girl, you have nice breasts…I'd say a size C, but I wouldn't call them ample. Gorgeous, perfect, but not ample."

"Sufficient, not ample?"

"Bring them up here and let me take a gander."

She crawled up his body, her nakedness sliding softly over him as her lips and tongue found his mouth. His tongue mimicked what he wanted to do her with his hard cock. He grabbed her breasts a little harder than expected causing her to jerk slightly. Pinching her nipple, he felt her teeth sink into his lip.

"Ow!"

"Yeah, well keep tweeking my nipples like that and I'll give you some more of the same."

He flipped her over in a flash pinning her to the bed, her face down. She tried to flip back over, but he pulled her arm back, keeping her from moving. Pushing her thighs apart with his knee, he continued to keep her pinned down.

It was exciting. She tried hard to flip back, but House wasn't playing, he wanted her on her stomach, he wanted to fuck her hard just like that- vulnerable and splayed for his pleasure. Feeling between her labia, he opened the lips and slammed into her, her whole body bolting forward.

Face buried in the bed, Kate was determined not to let him have his way, but when he entered, hard and hot, she gasped.

"Lay still." He said. "Just lay still and it will all be over soon."

"Greg?" She asked nervously. Was he serious or was this sex play? It felt real.

"Shhhh." He started thrusting, his whole body rubbing against her back, grunting and holding her arm behind her back as he did. "I've been watching you. You're so hot. You and your ample breasts." The feel of her under him, unable to move or stop him, was hot. He kept starting and stopping just to keep from coming too soon. But then she managed to move under him, almost tossing him off. "Oh, you little minx." He pushed her down harder and punished her by thrusting hard and fast, his head exploding with satisfaction as he ejaculated several times. He collapsed, relaxing his grip on her arm which she pulled away from him and then pushed up knocking his body off her back. Even though his heart was still beating wildly, he rolled her on her back and pushed her legs up. House moved so he could get his head between her thighs, his tongue touching her clit. Hand on her pubic bone, he licked her from the perineum to her clit and back over and over as she stayed perfectly still. Once he got into rhythm, he stuck his tongue as far as he could into her vagina. Her hand reached out to the side, grasping air and then the sheets. Thighs tightening, Kate tried not to scream, but let out a little yip and a quick, "fuck." House licked and sucked faster and faster as her orgasm intensified. She finally bucked up several times and collapsed back.

The orgasm gone, her head shot up to look at Michael who was still fast asleep. She dropped back onto the pillow.

"So, you like it a little rough?" He asked with a smile.

Blushing, she shrugged. "I didn't mind it as long as you would have stopped if I said, 'no.'"

"We'll use a safe word next time." He kissed her hair and whispered, "You were really hot."

"You were too."

They both maneuvered their bodies so that they were holding each other. "We have to make some decisions soon. I like this free sex." He said.

"Well, it's your turn to come see me. You make a trip back out and we'll talk about what we're going to do."

"I know what I _want_ to do…tomorrow morning that is. When does the munchkin wake up?"

"His circadian clock is all screwed up on this trip so I can't promise anything."

"Well, if he cooperates, then I was thinking a little Cowgirl action might be fun in the morning."

"You really do like this free sex."

"Free sex with a beautiful woman? You better believe it. And by the way, how are we doing on the birth control?"

"The doctor told me that it's highly unlikely that I could get pregnant again, not just because I'm almost forty, but because my uterus is pretty banged up from the accident and delivery; it's unlikely that an embryo would attach."

"Yet it would be my luck that one of my swimmers would entice your last ova to latch on and hang in there for forty weeks."

"Then you should get a vasectomy because I'm not using birth control."

"Why?" House was shocked and then it hit him. "_Catholic?'_

"Yes and no. I would feel guilty using birth control because of the Church, but it wouldn't stop me. The truth is I don't care if I get pregnant. I'd like a brother or sister for Mike."

"Oh, Jesus! Don't say things like that. You'll give me heart failure."

She grinned. "You're not the only sperm in town."

"What does that mean?"

"You know what it means."

"Not if we get married."

"You really want to marry me?"

Rolling his eyes he took a deep breath. "I know that if I don't marry you, I'll never get you to live with me."

"Maybe. Not that I'm a prude, but why give up my lifestyle just to play house? No pun intended. But before we take that big of a step, maybe we should spend time together? Go on a vacation somewhere."

"Vacation? Isn't this a vacation for you?"

"Yes, but I have a lot of vacation time left. I have three years of vacation time saved up and the hospital is asking me to use it."

"Where should we go?"

"Someplace infant friendly…in other words, somewhere that we don't have to keep packing and unpacking."

"Let's go to San Diego. We could get a condo and my Mom could come down and meet her grandson. If I don't find a way to get them together she's going to shoot me."

"I haven't been there for a long time."

"I thought you took Maxie to Legoland?"

"Not in San Diego, in Windsor, England."

"You took a toddler to England?"

"Yes."

"An eleven hour plane ride?"

"Benedryl."

House laughed. "You're my kind of parent. So, San Diego?"

"Let me check my schedule and maybe I can get away in January. But I can't promise."

House tugged her to him. "That sounds great. If we manage not to kill each other, can we revisit where our relationship is going? Maybe we won't have to get married after all." He ventured softly.

She winced. "Sorry, but if you want a _long term_ relationship with me, we'll have to get married in the Church."

House's eyes widened. "_The Catholic Church?"_

"Yes, the Catholic Church."

"Did Keith get married in the Church?"

"Yes, and he even converted for me…but lapsed immediately thereafter." She said with a frown.

"Convert? You want me to convert?"

"No, I've learned my lesson. I wanted to have a mass at my wedding and they'll only do that for two Catholics. Keith was desperate to nail me down, so he offered to convert if I would marry him. I can tell that you'd never convert. Besides, I don't need another mass…one was enough. We can get married in the church, they just won't say a wedding mass."

"You're right about me not converting, unless, of course, you wear a nun's habit and give me a blow job. I might consider it then."

"Is that your fantasy? Sex with a nun?"

"Any scenario where it ends up that I get a blow job is my fantasy."

"I'll talk to my nurse, Jeff, I'm sure he'd love to accommodate you."

House sneered. "Funny."

"Can I get Bruiser and bring him back to bed?"

House picked his head up and looked at the baby strapped into the carrier. It did seem strange to see him buckled into the carrier sitting on the floor. "Okay, but you know it means that we don't get to cuddle anymore tonight."

"Yeah, but we can do my next favorite thing on Earth."

"What's that?"

"Stare lovingly down at our baby son."

"You are corny, aren't you?"

"You wait; I bet it becomes one of your favorite pastimes too."

"Oh, for God's sakes, get the kid and bring him back to bed."

She grinned and jumped up, unlatching Mike and placing him softly between them. "Isn't he beautiful?"

House looked down at the baby, still asleep, his light brown eyelashes lying on his cheeks. For a baby, he did look peaceful, innocent. House could understand why parents fell in love with their children. Nothing seemed wrong with the world while they continued to watch him sleep. The universe could collapse in on itself and as long as the baby was asleep between them House wouldn't notice.

"This is ridiculous." House said, shaking his head as if he wanted to wake up.

"What?"

"It's like you're mesmerized. I could watch him sleep for hours."

"No you can't…you eventually feel so peaceful it puts you to sleep."

"Hmm." House reached across and stroked her cheek, leaning forward to give her an open mouth kiss. "If I'm going to go to sleep, I wanted you to have your goodnight kiss." House took another look at Michael and then turned off the light.

"Greg?"

"What?"

"You're the best Christmas present I've ever had. Thank you for coming up."

He wanted to make a joke, but he knew she was being serious. "Thank you for coming by the hospital and lighting a fire under me. I'm sorry that I was such an ass and didn't try to reach you before."

"I'm glad you came, Greg."

House reached over the baby and grabbed her hand, placing hers on the baby's chest and tummy and his over her hand and that's how they fell asleep.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

**Christmas**

"Merry Christmas!" Kate chirped cheerfully at the two men in her life, both still asleep. Happier than she had been in three years, Kate couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she bounced into the bathroom to take a shower. A few minutes later she heard peeing in the toilet on the other side of the pony wall and grinned.

"Move over, Daddy's coming in." The curtain opened and House stepped in.

She turned and smiled up at him.

"Now would be a good time to rub your breasts on my chest and tell me you're going to whip me good."

She grabbed and hugged him, her breasts pressing into his lower chest. "Was he asleep?"

"Yeah, he's still asleep. I didn't hear him wake up last night. Did he sleep through?"

"I woke up when he did and gave him a bottle. I don't think you could hear anything over your snoring."

"I don't snore."

"Oh, honey, you snore big time."

"Just for that, I'm going to have to bend you over and make you moan."

"Here?"

"Unless you want me to bend you over the bed and demonstrate for Michael how to ride doggie style."

"Why don't we save it for tonight? We can keep him up most of the day and he'll sleep when he gets back."

House's face fell.

"Greg, this shower is tiny; I'll be tied up in knots if I accommodate that huge schlong of yours."

He grinned and wagged a finger in her face, "You're good. Bravo."

"Turn and let me wash what little hair you have left."

"Oh, oh! I don't believe you just said that! What the right hand giveth the left hand grabbeth and throws down the drain. I think I'm going to have to tie you in knots."

"I tell you what, how about a good old fashion hand job?"

"Ah, Mom. How about we split the baby and you give me a good old fashion blow job?"

"Well, turn your back so the water isn't on me."

Kate began with a hand job, rubbing and stroking faster and faster until House was at full staff. The open mouth kisses became more urgent on House's part, as his hand cupped and played with her breast. He reached around and grabbed her ass in both hands, pulling her into him, pushing his erection into her belly.

Pulling back, she tilted her head and dropped down to her knees. Taking his head into her mouth, House watched her as she sucked and licked around the rim. The sight of his penis in her mouth just made it grow harder. The constant feel of her wet mouth over his throbbing organ raised his heart rate and made his groin tingle with pleasure. He pushed into her mouth as far as she could take it, his hand on her head, waiting for the gag reflex. It came when she had almost taken the full length of his shaft. He backed off when the gagging became move vocal and she almost pulled away completely. Then he began to thrust with both hands on her head pushing her back and forth until his balls exploded.

"Oh, fuck." He moaned. "That's was good, really good."

Kate swallowed and stood up, opening her mouth to swallow the water from the shower. "Boy, you had a lot to unload."

He grinned and nodded vigorously. "And you swallowed like a good girl. That's hot."

"I didn't have much of a choice, you kinda took over."

"Yes, it's Christmas, I didn't want you to have to do all the work."

She poured shampoo in her hands and washed her hair. He massaged her scalp with the lather and then helped her rinse. Her hair flattened back and when she turned, her face was shining up at him. The feeling was too much, House wince from the fluttering in his heart.

"Something wrong?"

He took a deep breath, "Yeah, with your hair like that I feel like a child molester. You look like a pert twelve year old."

"Thanks. Turn around."

He turned and she reached up, lathering his hair and then she stepped out so that he could rinse off.

"I just thought I'd tell you that I think you're hot!" She sang out.

"Yeah, yeah. Go check on the changeling."

Kate went out and checked on Mike who was awake and looking around. "Pumpkin! Are you hungry?"

Arms waving, he reached out to her. She picked him up and went to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle for him. Sitting on the bed in her towel, she cradled him in her arms and began to feed him. House stepped out and smiled at the two of them, looking perfectly content.

"Drop the towel; I want to take a photo."

"You want to take a photo of me naked?"

"Yeah, I want to put it on my Facebook."

"Ha, ha. Not on your life."

He pulled out his cell phone and took the picture of Kate and Michael. Turning the screen to show her the photo, she nodded approval. Although her shoulders were bare, you could tell she wasn't naked in the photo. Michael was looking up at her and she was smiling down at him. The perfect _Madonna & Child_ type photo. House made it his desktop photo on his phone.

"Get dressed; we need to get to my Aunt's house by 9:30 to open gifts."

"I gave you your gift, let's go back to bed." House said.

"And I gave you yours, but you still haven't given Michael his!"

House, realizing that he had no clue what the gift was, gave her a painful smile. "Yeah, you're right."

Forty minutes later, they were on their way to her cousin's house. Kate spoke out loud more to herself than to House, "Maybe I should stop at a grocery store so I can pick up something to drink?"

"You bought them Christmas gifts, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you're cool."

"You think?"

"Yes, I think…therefore I am."

Once inside the house, everyone hugged each other. Even House received a few hugs which he had trouble reciprocating. After passing out drinks and lots of frivolous banter, everyone settled in the family room around the Christmas tree. Tara's husband, Randy, played Santa and started handing out gifts. Of course, Kate and Michael received a few, but most of the gifts under the tree were for Tara's two daughters, Lynn, 7 and Vanessa, 4. House sat back nursing a cup of coffee while everyone opened their gifts.

When they were done, Aunt Molly looked around and pointed towards House and the present sitting next to him. "Oh, dear, we have a gift left!"

Kate looked at the ducky wrapped gift. "Greg is that your gift to Michael?"

"Yes, although I didn't have much time to get him something." House stumbled over his words. "I just wanted him to have something."

"Well, I think it's lovely that you thought about him and actually went out to get him something on such short notice. Hand it here and I'll help him open it." Kate had Michael in her lap and was reaching out with her free arm.

House wasn't sure, but knew there was no backing down. He took the gift over to her.

"Hey, Pumpkin, what's in this box?" Kate waved the rather cumbersome box at Mike, who was now lying on the sofa. All eyes were glued on Kate and Michael and the ducky wrapped box. "Maybe a cowboy outfit? A fireman outfit? A big tonka truck?" She grinned as she ripped the wrapping off and opened the box, pulling out a very pink, very fluffy looking horse on wheels with a tag that said, _Follow Me Fiona._

There were stunned looks around the room. Kate tilted her head as she inspected the toy. "Well, it's…very pretty and very…pink."

House looked at everyone and realized he needed a cover story. "I read an article that talked about exposing children to toys normally associated with the opposite gender if you want them to be more accepting of the opposite sex."

Kate nodded. "Yes, of course, that makes sense." But her voice clearly sounded like someone who was trying to buy into the idea rather than one who accepted it.

Everyone looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. House closed his eyes and put his hand up to his forehead, realizing that everyone there was wondering if he was gay. Kate put Michael on his back on the floor and laid the pink horse beside him. Michael rolled over to the horse and started gumming it.

"Great, he's gay." House said quietly to Kate.

"I understand the logic, honey, but it is a little different if you know what I mean. I don't think he's gay, he's just gumming everything in sight these days."

House's cell phone played '_No BS.' _Grabbing it, he walked out the front door as Kate went around picking up trash and then helping with the Christmas brunch. A few minutes later House came back in and motioned to Kate.

"I've got a patient."

"A patient? On Christmas?"

"I wouldn't go back, but my boss says that it's the brother of one of our donors. She expects me back in two hours."

The look of disappointment on Kate's face said it all. "But, it's our last day together. We have things to discuss."

"I'll go down, work up the case and come back up."

"That assumes that you diagnose your patient today."

"I better get going." House went over to Michael and picked him up, gave him a smile and put him back down in the portable playpen.

Kate gave House a ride back to the hotel to pick up his things and his car. She opened the door to the room and watched him pack. He turned and saw the doubt in her eyes.

"You don't think that I can do this, do you?" He asked.

"I don't know. I think you're being very optimistic, but I'll be here. We leave at seven in the morning, so we have to be at the airport by five-thirty at the latest."

"Kiss me, goodbye."

She kissed him.

"Don't look like that; I'll do everything I can to get back up here. Now you go enjoy Christmas with your family."

Kate nodded, closed the door and was walking with him to his car when House put his arm around her shoulder trying to physically reassure her that he wasn't running away. At the car he embraced her and gave her a final kiss goodbye. She turned to walk back to her car, trying hard to think positive.

"_Hey! Aren't you going to tell me goodbye? Or throw me a bone?"_

She turned around. "I keep thinking that if I say goodbye, it will be for good."

House rolled his eyes and threw his head back. "Oh, Jesus. Are you threatening me? If I leave now and can't get back, are we done?"

"No, but it just worries me. I feel like everything is so tenuous…it's all so fragile."

"I'm serious about having feelings for you. Remember that. I care about you and Michael. Now Merry Christmas. I'll see you later."

"Later. Merry Christmas."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

**Christmas Night Fades Into Tomorrow**

"Sorry. It's not going well…" His voice was soft and tired.

There was silence.

"Damn it. Don't you think I want to be there?"

"I don't know Greg. I know family scenes aren't your forte, but medical puzzles are."

"_I want to be with you."_

"Don't yell at me."

"You're so damn frustrating. Just because I have a patient whose condition defies logic is not some sign that I'm blowing you off. I just can't leave. Why don't you come down here?"

"And sit around with a baby in a disease ridden hospital while you ignore us?"

"Kate."

"Greg."

"Don't go home. Don't go back to Portland. Stay with me."

"I can't. I have responsibilities too and there's an Oncologist waiting for me to get home so he can spend New Year's Eve with his family in Israel."

There was a deep silence that made House feel desperate. It felt as deep as the Columbia River and he wasn't in a raft.

"Call me when you get to Portland."

"Sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He said in response to the tone of her voice.

"Nothing. Merry Christmas, Greg." There was a click.

He looked at the receiver, surprised that she had hung up. "Damn her!"

Kate, unsure why she hung up, thought hard and decided it was because she didn't want to say something she would regret. Better to leave it in the air than to say something that would split them up forever. She went back into the living room and tried to keep up her end of the conversation with her family before packing up Michael and saying her goodbyes. Back in the hotel room, Kate gave Michael his last bottle of the night and tucked him into the bed next to her. As she had so many nights before, she stared down at her son as he slept, his fist up next to his lips, his body curled slightly into a relaxed ball. She loved him so much her heart ached with feeling. He wasn't Maxi. Maxi had been much more difficult, it had taken both Keith and Kate to get her through her first year without Kate having a nervous breakdown. As a first-time-mother, she had worried constantly that she was 'doing it wrong' and only Keith had kept her sane, laughing and assuring her that Maxi would survive if she cried herself to sleep, if she didn't get her bottle on time, didn't get changed when she screamed. But, luckily, Michael had been much easier. Oh, he had his moments and meltdowns, but nothing like Maxi. Since it was her second time around and Michael was less demanding, Kate had found motherhood much more pleasant this time, although there was no getting around the fact that she yearned for a day off now and then and wished she had Keith around to help her…or Greg.

The drive from Portland's airport to the cabin was quick. Unlike the year before, the current weather had been average and the snow had been light during the holidays. The real snow wouldn't be expected until next month. As soon as she entered the house, she started to turn on the lights, but stopped and looked around. It was so quiet. The house was always so quiet whenever they returned from being someplace else. She almost cried, the house felt lonely. She missed House; she missed Keith; she missed Maxie. Kate couldn't wait until Michael could talk and count as real company.

The phone was ringing. She walked over and looked at the caller i.d. and saw that it was Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Her mind and heart felt heavy with fatigue. She couldn't pick it up yet, she needed a good night's sleep to clear her head and let her weigh the next move. Unfortunately, House wouldn't let her get that good night's sleep; he kept calling.

Turning on the light, she quickly glanced at the clock, it was midnight and the third time he had called. Michael, who had fussed so much when they got home that she had to bring him in to sleep with her, had his eyes open and was looking at her as if to ask who the hell was calling at this hour?

"It's your Dad." Picking up the phone, Kate sighed and managed to ask, "What?"

"What? I asked you to call me when you got home-that's what. I wanted to know if you managed to get over the hill and back to your cabin."

"It was an easy drive. It's not really snowing yet. We won't see a lot of snow until next month. We're both fine. Can I call you in the morning?"

Shaking his head to himself, House shouted. "_Why are you punishing me?"_

"Punishing you? I'm just trying to get a good night's sleep before I deal with you, Greg. Now, honestly, I'll call you tomorrow. Please?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. Now, before I go, how's your patient?"

"Dead."

"_Dead?"_

"Hey, it happens. I diagnosed him, but it was a fatal condition. Even if I had diagnosed it two years ago, he'd be dead."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, it happens. Promise you'll call?"

"I promise."

"I miss you."

She smiled to herself. She knew it urked him to have to be sentimental. He sounded truthful; but she knew that House didn't feel as if people should have to constantly demonstrate their feelings 24/7. "I miss you too."

There was no good-bye, just a click of the receiver. Kate did an internal eye-roll and looked over at Michael who was now asleep. She turned the light off and rolled over on her side, placing her hand on Michael's stomach.

**Sorry it's a short chapter, but if I see from the reviews that most of you have read, I'll try to post something later this afternoon.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

**December 27****th**

"Okay, so we've established that you have obligations and I have obligations and neither of us has the luxury of being able to move. We're no closer than we were before to resolving this." Kate said, summarizing the conversation so far.

"Princeton makes more sense. They don't have a diagnostic department in Oregon, we do. We also have an Oncology Department. Wilson will give you a job."

"Just like a man. You assume your job is more important."

"That's bull and you know it. Your job is just more _portable_ than mine."

Kate could feel her blood pressure rising. "Greg, I have to get Michael. He's about to swallow a small object. I'll call you back." She hung up and took a deep breath. Walking over to the couch, she sat down and put her head back. Michael was safely asleep in his crib.

"She just blew me off." House said as he turned in his chair.

Wilson shrugged. "She needs to make the decision to move on her own. You're making her feel that you don't value her work as much as your own."

"I don't. Oncologists are a dime a dozen, diagnostician's like me aren't. She's not being logical."

"House, if you want her to move, you have to offer to move first. You have to let her know the relationship is important enough to you that you'll sacrifice your career."

"So you think the most important career should be sacrificed? Like the October Horse?"

"You want the girl? Make the sacrifice."

House shook his head. "If I have to sacrifice who I am, then it's not a real relationship. Why would I want it?"

"Because you have a beautiful baby boy who shares your DNA."

"He lives on the other side of the continent. The way we're going, I'm never going to get to see him so excuse me but I don't really want to think about that."

"House, you can't just not think about your son."

"Watch me."

After a good night's sleep she dialed PPTH and, when House didn't answer his phone, left a message. "I didn't want to say this to voice mail, but I don't see any point in talking further. Neither of us can afford to leave our careers and so I don't see the point in trying to create a relationship when we won't be together. I'll be happy to keep you apprised of the baby's progress and if you want to see him, feel free to contact me, we can arrange things. Send me your Skype information and you can talk to him as often as you want. If you want to call me, please feel free to do so. But, if what I'm saying makes sense, I think it's best if we keep each other at arm's length. I'm sorry, Greg, I haven't slept trying to think of a compromise, something that would work, but I think we both know that it can't, it won't…" She paused and swallowed back the tears. "Bye."

House had seen the caller I.D. and waited. When he dialed the voice mail, it was still busy; the message was a long one. Before he could try back, Wilson walked into the office to ask if House wanted to go to lunch, but found a pensive House.

"What's up?"

"I'm waiting for a voice mail?"

"Waiting for a voice mail?"

"Kate called and left a message and was still leaving it when I tried to retrieve it."

"Wow…that can't be good."

House pressed the redial and was anxiously waiting for the message to play. He kept it on the speakers so that Wilson could hear. Wilson watched as House listened. Anyone else would have said that House didn't care, but Wilson could see the slight clench in his jaw and knew that House was having a hard time listening to the Dear John message.

"You need to call her back and tell her you'll move to Oregon."

"But I won't, she can afford to leave her career, I can't."

"So you're okay with letting her and your son go?"

"I guess I'll have to be, won't I?"

Wilson shook his head in disgust and then turned to leave, unable to tolerate another moment with House. He needed time to calm down.

"Hey! Where ya going? I thought we were going to lunch?"

"Not today, House. I don't want to be around you right now."

"Oh, come on! Just because I don't want to be a long distance Dad—"

"A dad! You don't want to be a dad _period_."

"I'm okay being Michael's Dad—_in person."_

Wilson shook his head and kept walking.

When Kate returned home the next day, Lonnie, the nanny, was patting her arms with anxiety. "Dr. Monaghan!"

"Yes, Lonnie?"

"Your boyfriend is rude!"

"Rude?"

"He kept insisting that you were here and I was covering for you. I finally let his call ring through to your answering machine."

"What did he say?"

"I didn't listen to the message, but he cursed at me when I supposedly refused to put you on the phone."

"Well, I don't normally work Sundays, so he probably did think you were lying. I'm sorry, he can be a little over the top."

"Little? I can't believe that he's Michael's father."

Kate snickered. "Neither can I."

After Kate gave Lonnie money for staying Sunday, she walked her to the door and watched as she got into her 1999 Jeep Cherokee and drove down the driveway to the road. A few deep breaths and then Kate took a seat before dialing the voice mail number.

"_So your career comes before making sure that Michael has a father? Fine, if being an Oncologist at Seaside Hospital is more important than being with me, then you're right, there's no use in talking."_ The phone went dead.

Kate suddenly felt guilty; she had chosen her job over House, over giving Michael a two parent home. But, she just wanted House to acknowledge that her life was as important as his, to agree to at least try and find a compromise, but he didn't. Her life wasn't as important to him as his own. Running up the steps, she opened the door and crossed the room to Michael's crib. Staring down at her son, Kate couldn't imagine why House didn't want to move heaven and earth to be with him? He was so perfect and so vulnerable. She refused to cry… besides, when she boiled it all down, she hardly knew Gregory House. He'd never said he loved her…just that he cared. Maybe this was for the best. They discovered their true feelings early enough that they didn't make a mistake by destroying careers and moving across country to discover they weren't made for each other.

Kate wanted to hold Michael, but knew from her earlier conversation with Lonnie that he had only been down for an hour at most. She went back downstairs and looked at the bar. It had been a long time since she had imbibed alcohol by herself, but she felt so deeply alone, as alone as she felt after the accident. She poured herself a glass of wine and nursed it until Michael's voice bubbled over the baby monitor. A huge smile crossed Kate's face, her baby was awake. Rushing up the stairs, she found Michael rolling on his back and squealing at the sight of Kate.

"Hey, Pumpkin! How ya doin?" She picked him up and hugged him, kissed him, nuzzled him, her heart spilling over with love and sorrow. "Well, baby, it looks like it's just you and me. I think I scared your Daddy away. I'm so very sorry."


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

**April**

"You keep looking at your watch. What's going on?"

House stuck another fry in his mouth and sighed. "I got an answer to my email. Kate's Skyping me in ten minutes."

"Skyping? _Skyping?" _Wilson rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"What did you say in that email?"

"I just said that it was time that I had some news about my son. He's eight months old. The last time I saw him was in December. I just want to know how he's doing."

"Oh, that's really rich coming from you. She sent you a photo of him three months ago and you told her that you didn't want to be reminded that your son was growing up without you. You're feeling guilty."

"Guilty?" House snorted and shook his head. "No, I just want to know that he's okay."

"Why? You don't send her money for his support; you don't talk to her or write her. No, you're doing this because you feel guilty."

"Oh, bull. I don't feel guilty."

"You want a connection to Kate because Lydia's back. You're feeling guilty, like you're cheating on Kate by sleeping with Lydia."

"Lydia left her kids and came back to me, _to Princeton_."

"She didn't _Ieave_ her kids, they're joining her after school is out in Arizona. The divorce settlement gives her physical custody. Unlike Lydia, Kate can't just come to Princeton. They practically built a whole hospital around her and her talent last year. That part of Oregon needs a good oncologist, she can't be replaced that easy." Wilson sat back in the booth and let what he said sink in. Then he asked, "House, is she the one? Are you sure that Lydia is the one?"

"She's here isn't she?"

"That doesn't mean she's the one. Cuddy's here too and she's not the one. Cuddy had one kid, Lydia has two and they aren't small, they'll come with lots of baggage."

"Gotta go."

Wilson followed House into the elevator. House said nothing, choosing to ignore him. Settling down next to the computer, House adjusted the camera angle so that it revealed only his image in the little box in the corner, the same view that Kate would have. Surprisingly he was nervous, excited about seeing her, talking to her. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Wilson talking to Chase in the next room, but he didn't have time to worry about Wilson's motive. He clicked on his Skype button and set his account to active. A few minutes later there was a notice that Kate Monaghan was trying to contact him. He clicked on her name and a window popped up. The screen was filled with Michael.

"Hello?" She said tentatively. "Greg?"

"Hi. Wow, he's gotten big."

"He's eight months old."

"Yeah, I know, I was there when he was born, remember?" The sarcasm was so thick even House recoiled, wishing he could start over.

She was silent.

"How is he?"

"You can see for yourself. He's healthy and happy." Her voice had switched from warm to cold.

"Is he up to speed on his motor skills?"

"Oh, he's ahead of target. He's been crawling for months and he's cruising the furniture all the time. He's going to walk soon."

"Walk?"

"I recognize the signs. He tries when he's cruising to cross to another piece of furniture without crawling. He falls and cries, but then he gets up and tries again. It won't be long."

House watched as Michael bounced up and down on what was obviously Kate's lap although he couldn't see anything but Michael on the screen. Michael started blowing raspberries and was vocalizing as they talked. House smiled, the baby was amusing and now he was trying to get off his mother's lap.

"Michael, Michael, no…you can't get down. Look—" A finger came into view pointing at the screen, "That's Daddy. There's Daddy." The boy stopped and looked directly at the screen.

House felt as if he needed to perform. He waved and crossed his eyes causing the baby to soberly study him. There was a slight giggle from Kate and then the baby turned and looked up at her.

"That's Daddy, honey."

Michael looked again.

"Hi Mike, how's it hangin'?

The baby's blue eyes looked at the screen suspiciously and then back at his mother who was still off screen.

"Turn the camera, I want to see you."

"You said you wanted to know how your son was doing, not me. I'm not the reason for this call, Michael is."

"Come on, Kate, let me see you."

"Are we done here? Are you satisfied that I'm raising your son properly?"

"Kate—"

"No, Greg. We haven't talked to each other in person since Christmas. We traded voice mails and then nothing. Whatever we thought we had was just an illusion…let's not try and resurrect a friendship from the ashes. I'm just not ready."

"Fine." House said with anger in his voice. "You're making it easy."

"Making what easy?"

"Nothing. Thanks for letting me see him. He looks robust."

"He's definitely robust. Well, anytime you want to see him, just let me know and I'll arrange another Skype."

House hit the button without saying goodbye and then looked up, realizing that Wilson had been in the room the whole time. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Yes. And you made a balls up of that didn't you?"

"What?"

"You handled it poorly. You should have told her that you missed her, that you were happy to see Michael doing so well."

"Give me a break."

"You should have told her about Lydia."

"Why?"

"Because if you're not going to pursue a relationship with Kate, she should know that there's someone else, know that you're not going to be there when she is ready for a friendship."

He shook his head. "It's dead on arrival. There is no relationship now or in the future with Kate. We were trying to create a relationship over a mistake."

"Mistake?"

"Failure to use birth control when we did the nasty."

"I don't believe that for one minute. You have feelings for her…or at least, you did."

"I had feelings for Cuddy and look where that got me."

xoxo xoxo xoxo xoxo

"I remember you. You're Greg's friend, the Oncologist, right?"

"Yes, we met when you came looking for him at the hospital."

Kate's voice jumped an octave, "Is he alright?"

Wilson smiled; she did care about him. "Physically, yes. But there's something you should know."

"Know? What?"

"Lydia is back."

"Okay? I'm happy for her. Who is she?"

"House had an affair with her when he was in Mayfield. He developed feelings for her but she moved away with her husband. But now they're divorced and she's back."

"Back? As in, she's back in his life?"

"Yeah, she is."

"I see."

Wilson could hear the disappointment in her voice. "He still has feelings for you."

"And you know this because?"

"As soon as she walked back into his life he wanted to make contact with you. He's feeling you out, wondering if there's a possibility you two could be together before …"

"Before he commits to her."

"Yes, I think he's lonely for you and she fills a void."

"He's not lonely for me. If he were lonely for me, he'd have come back to see us."

"Then you don't know House. He's stubborn and irrational when it comes to relationships. If the relationship doesn't come easy, he runs. He's been burned in the past and he wants love to come to him."

"And this Lydia has."

"Yes."

"He's never told me that he loves me."

"Have you told him?"

"No, because I don't want him to feel obligated to reciprocate or even worse, have to tell me he doesn't feel the same."

"So you do love him."

"I'm an adult, James. Loving him has little to do with whether we should be together."

"But you love him?"

"I've only really been around him for a couple of weeks."

"But you love him?"

There was a long pause as Kate took a deep breath and looked down at the hardwood floor under her feet. She placed her hand over her eyes as if to keep the repercussions from hurting her. "Yes, I love him."

"Come to Princeton. I have an extra room; let him see what he's missing."

"I don't know."

Wilson noted that she didn't say no. "Please, I think House wants to be a father. I know he has feelings for you—"

"Yes, he says that…but he never says he loves me."

"Oh believe me, 'I have feelings' is Houseian for 'I love you.'"

"I'll believe that when he actually says the three words."

"You won't hear them in Portland."

"I'm not in Portland, I'm half way between Portland and Astoria."

"Okay…great…come to Princeton."

"I'll call you back. Will you be at this phone number tonight?"

"Yes."

"Fine, I'll call you tonight."


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

**The Unvarnished Truth**

Wilson heaved a sigh of relief when he saw her. Watching Kate walk towards him with an air of confidence and beauty, Wilson wondered why House was screwing this up. He'd give his left nut if a woman like her walked into his life. A short wave and she headed in his direction. Dressed in black slacks, short boots with a pointed heel, a red v-neck sweater (revealing a pleasant cleavage) and a lamb skin leather motorcycle jacket, Wilson was pleased when she gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was hot. Even her sassy new hair cut gave her an edge she didn't have the first time he saw her.

"You're looking great."

"Thank you. "

"I'm parked out in the lower forty. Is this all you have?"

"Yes, I don't plan on staying long."

Once in the car Wilson asked, "Don't get me wrong, I'm very pleased that you're here, but…why did you decide to come?"

"I know that confronting him while he's seeing someone will force him to make a decision. Either he'll choose her or he'll choose me, it's that simple."

"Nothing is simple with House."

"Well, it will be with me."

"You seem calm, resigned."

"I think I am. I've been so anxious not knowing what he wants, if he's willing to commit completely, wishing he'd make a decision one way or the other, but now I know he'll have to make a decision. Knowing that I'm going to know where this relationship is going is calming. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does."

"So, what's the plan?"

"He's having dinner with her tonight at Mezzaluna."

"Wherever that is."

"It's a very nice bar and restaurant downtown Princeton." Wilson said with some hesitation.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"I think he's going to ask her to move in with him."

"Oh." Kate said softly, unable to look at Wilson, she concentrated on looking out the window.

"He told me this morning. It was too late to call you; you were already on your way. Does that change anything?"

"Of course it changes things; he's more serious about her than he is me. But, I might as well go through with it."

"I don't think he's more serious, it's just that she's willing to come here."

"Is that how he measures love?"

Wilson cringed. "I have no idea how he measures love."

Kate used Wilson's guest room to change. She pulled out the jersey dress, black on the bottom with a rouged cummerbund around the waist and a deep red v-neck plunge. She went braless noting that the outline of her nipples could be clearly seen. The dress fit like a glove, emphasizing every curve of her body. The hem came several inches above her knee. The black silk thigh highs highlighted her perfect calves and thin ankles. After putting on her makeup, the dangling black earrings and deep red lipstick, she smoothed her skirt and grabbed her purse. Walking out the door, she turned and made her way into the living room finding Wilson having a cup of coffee at the kitchen island.

His eyebrows went up as he shook his head. "This is terribly unfair to Lydia."

"What do you mean?"

"In that outfit, House has no choice. You're about as…"

"Sexy? I was going for sexy."

"You're past sexy." Wilson blushed when he realized that he was practically drooling over the woman that he was trying to pawn off on House.

"Thank you. Shall we go?"

Wilson looked at his watch. House's reservation was for seven-thirty. It was seven-thirty now. Wilson drove Kate to the restaurant and dropped her off. "I'll park the car and wait for you next door at the coffee shop."

She nodded. Getting out of the car, Kate felt calm, assured. All the indecision and pain of not knowing would soon be over. It was possible a new pain would begin; the pain of rejection; but she could live with that, get over that, it was the not knowing that was tearing her apart.

Kate went to the bar and ordered a drink to give her time to check things out. She sat angled so that she could look out into the restaurant. It took a few seconds, but she found them at a table next to the window. House was in a sports coat and starched white shirt. Lydia was dressed in a green silk wrap dress that was flattering to her figure and also highlighted the green in her eyes. She was pretty and she was smiling at something House had said. He was smiling too. She had her hand on the table and House had his hand over hers. They looked happy together. Kate hadn't expected that. It took the wind out of her sails. _Leave him alone...he's happy. You can only make him miserable by forcing him to hurt your feelings, to let you down. If you do love him, let him be happy. Don't hurt him. You have your answer; get on with your life. _

Lydia smiled at House. "I can't believe you'd do that to your best friend."

"He's a sucker for practical jokes."

"I have to go to the restroom."

"Through the bar." House said pointing in the direction of the bathroom.

"I'll be back and then we can talk about where we're going to live; we're going to need a bigger place." Lydia stood up and leaned in, giving House a gentle kiss on his lips.

He watched as she made her way into the bar and down the hall. Then he spotted the woman. Her head was turned away, but her neck and shoulders seemed familiar. She was trying to pay the bartender, but the bartender was watching the basketball game on the flatscreen and didn't see her waving her hand. She finally put money on the counter and stood up, turning and glancing quickly at him.

The entire world stopped in its tracks and House could feel his body react like a train hitting a wall. His heart started beating hard and fast. Lydia was walking towards him as Kate was exiting out of the restaurant. As House passed Lydia he pointed haphazardly towards the door.

"I think I recognized someone. I'll be back, order some more wine."

Lydia could tell he was stressed and so she tried to grab his hand, but he was hobbling too fast towards the door. Sitting down at the table, Lydia looked outside and saw a beautiful woman in a drop-dead gorgeous dress walking swiftly towards the coffee shop in the square. On her four inch heels, she couldn't move very fast allowing House to catch up to her. He snatched her wrist, swinging her around and causing her to tumble into his arms. Lydia gasped. What the hell was going on?

"Damn it! Why didn't you stop when I called out?" House growled.

"I didn't want you to see me, let alone talk to me." Kate could feel his warm hands on her cool arms.

He was shaking his head, still holding her upper arms. "What are you doing here?"

She suddenly realized how mean-spirited it was to ambush him, but she couldn't lie. "I just wanted to talk to you, but I was wrong; I shouldn't have come." Kate looked at the window and could see Lydia's wide eyes and the worry in the clench of her jaw. "Greg, your date is watching."

House turned and saw Lydia through the large plate windows. The shock and worry in her eyes brought him back to reality. He let go of Kate's arms and backed off a few feet. It was only then that he got a good look at Kate. Swallowing hard, he realized that Lydia was going to be going nuts, wondering who this hot chick was that he was grabbing in the middle of the square. "Crap." He muttered to himself. "I can't talk here, but maybe later."

"No, you can't. If you make any excuses tonight, she's going to know that you're sneaking out to meet me."

"I'll say I have a patient."

"That's exactly what she'll expect. Greg, you're obviously happy with her. Go back, give her some excuse about all this and enjoy your life."

"I don't fucking believe this. You always show up at the worst time."

"I know. I also know that you're moving in together."

Narrowing his eyes, he growled, "Wilson."

She knew she had to lie. "It's not his fault. I called him after the Skype to find out how you were doing and he said you were doing well, that you had someone in your life; that you were going to move in together. I was jealous; I had to see for myself."

"Judging from the makeup and what you're wearing, you were trying to do more than see for yourself."

She shrugged. "Guilty. But, I'm truly sorry. I saw how happy you were sitting in that restaurant with her and I knew I couldn't ruin it for you. Please, let me go."

"Is Michael here?"

She shook her head. "No, this was all spur of the moment. Ann and Lonnie are watching him."

"How did you know I was here at this restaurant?"

"Your calendar on your desk."

"I don't have a calendar on my desk. I have it on my computer and my dinner date isn't…" He snickered. "Wilson again."

"Yes, I held a gun to his head and he…"

House started looking around in the windows and spotted Wilson in the coffee shop. "That little…"

Wilson saw that he was made. He put a tip on the table and walked out to meet his punishment.

"I'm sorry, James. It didn't go as we expected. I chickened out; but he spotted me." Kate confessed.

Wilson had a hard time looking at House so he looked at Kate who's eyes were filling up. She explained, "He's happy. I have my answer. Can we go?"

"Wait! Don't I have a say in this?" House barked.

"Greg? Is there a problem?" Lydia walked into the drama like a lamb to the slaughter.

"These two were trying to entice me to leave you for her." House motioned to Kate.

Kate turned as red as her dress. "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me. I was just leaving. I swear you'll never see me again."

"Who are you?" Lydia asked.

House pursed his lips and then took a deep breath through his nose. "This is Kate."

Lydia's head snapped back, taking in Kate. "_You said she was plain, unattractive_."

"She cleans up well."

Kate rolled her eyes.

"So you're Michael's mother?" Lydia asked, her whole body tense with emotion, angry that Kate had shown up out of the blue.

"Yes."

"I see. Has he asked you yet?" Lydia asked.

"Asked me what?"

"For partial custody?" Lydia wanted Kate as off kilter as she felt, and this would do it.

"Custody?" She looked at House. "You want custody? But you never ask about our son. You've never spent a dime on him…except for some lame-ass present at Christmas. And now you want custody?"

House was on the defensive. "I just thought…when Lydia's kids arrive we could…oh, hell, I'm just mulling it over."

Kate held up her hands and shook her head vigorously. "I don't believe this. James, can we go?"

"Sure." Wilson took the car keys out of his pocket.

"Goodbye, Greg." She turned to Lydia. "Goodbye and good luck. I'm sorry to have ruined your evening."

Lydia grabbed House's upper arm to mark her possession and nodded. "Have a safe trip back to Oregon."

House felt like a magnet being pulled in Kate's direction as she walked away. His eyes followed her pert little ass swinging as she leaned on Wilson's arm for support. He hated her. Once again, just when he was starting to feel good about his life, she showed up and demonstrated quite effectively how much he wanted her.

Back in the restaurant, Lydia was on pins and needles. House's mood had changed and he was spiraling down.

"Greg, what does all this mean? Are we still together?"

"I'm here, aren't I? I'd be with her if I wanted to be with her."

"We're still moving in together?"

House nodded.

"Why do I feel like everything is different?"

He took in a deep breath and barked, _"It isn't!"_

She was taken aback by his outburst and grateful when the waiter came over for the order. Once the waiter left with the order House reached over and grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry. It was just a shock to see her." House mumbled.

"Why did you tell me she was plain?"

"I didn't want you to think you were in competition with her."

"Am I?"

"No. No, you aren't."

She gave a barely discernable shake of her head. "Warum kann ich nicht glauben?" She said to herself so softly that House almost didn't hear it.

"You can believe it." House assured her.

"I want to Greg, but I saw how fast you ran after her, how nervous she made you."

"Let's talk about where we're going to live. You have a job in Trenton, mine is here. Let's find something in between."

She swallowed hard and nodded.

Lydia suggested that they go back to her condo, but House begged off, telling her he needed several stiff drinks and time to himself.

"You're going to go see her."

"No, I'm going to drink myself into a stupor."

"If you don't care about her why do you have to do that?"

"I may not have feelings for her, but I have them for my son and I know that what I did tonight is going to make my chances of seeing him that much harder. I just need time to think."

Not completely convinced, Lydia knew there was really nothing she could do. If House had feelings for this woman, it was better she found out now. "Call me."

"Sure."

House dropped Lydia off at her condo and stayed for a drink before giving her a long kiss goodbye and taking off. Lydia watched as he drove off, her stomach turning with apprehension.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

**House Calls**

"I feel horrible leaving you like this." Wilson's face was contorted into a ball of regret. "She's been a patient of mine for six years, since she was eight. I told her that when the end came, I'd be there."

"You don't have to explain. I've been there. I'll be alright. Just drop me off at the apartment; I'm tired anyways."

"Here's the key to my apartment."

Kate took the key and jumped out of the car after saying goodnight. Rushing upstairs, she opened the door before the dam burst. Over the next hour she washed the makeup off and put on her plain nightgown with the pink ribbons on the sleeves and Peter Pan collar. Completely alone, she went into the guest room and after almost an hour of massive emotional meltdowns followed by self soothing , she was sure that she was all cried out. She heard the door knob turn back and forth so she stopped and listened. When the door didn't open, there was a knock. She suddenly realized that she had Wilson's key and he needed to be let in. Sniffling, Kate made her way to the door and opened it slightly only to have the door rammed open even further as a crazed House crashed through.

"_How could you?"_

Shocked and frightened, Kate's hand clutched her chest as she tried unsuccessfully to say something.

Throwing his hands up in the air, he wanted so much to slap her silly. "I could have been happy."

"I know, you still-"

"But then you show up, you always show up to ruin things for me." House paced with his cane, his neck a light pink from the anger he was experiencing. "I was so miserable and hurt. You just dumped me and then didn't bother to even let me know how my son was doing." He turned, nostrils flared, teeth clenched, eyes narrowed. He was finally able to focus on her. Gone was the makeup, the luscious red lips, the smoky eyes. In its place was a woman who looked more like a fragile little girl in a soft nightgown with puffy red eyes. "Oh, crap, you've been crying."

"No…it's allergies."

"Bull. You've been crying. Why?"

"Because I might have screwed it up for you. What kind of a horrible person am I that I would fly back here and try to wreck your relationship? You're happy…you deserve to be happy. I can't apologize enough. All I can offer is that I'll slink back under my rock and let you get on with yoru life."

"I just don't understand; if you'd wanted us to be together, why did you dump me?"

"Dump you? I asked you to come up with a solution to the geographics of our being together. Your idea was that I give up my life and make your life my own."

"I just wanted you to acknowledge that it would be harder for me to change careers. I wanted you to appreciate what I do for a living." House said, his frustration telegraphed through a series of heavy sighs.

"I've always appreciated what you do. _You don't appreciate what I do_. You think I'm just some Podunk doctor in a Podunk town. If only you had recognized that I'm needed where I'm at. I just wanted you to work with me to come up with something to accommodate both of us."

"Like what?" he said, every inch of his body showing frustration.

"Like maybe I live in Princeton for part of the year and then you live in Oregon…we could set up a virtual office for you and you could diagnose over the web. If you really needed to, you could fly back to Princeton. Or maybe I could resign as head of Oncology and start a private practice…I could do the same, set up a virtual office in Princeton. I don't know…"

He looked at her as if she was crazy. _"You can't do this…you can't come back into my life with solutions that you've obviously thought of for months."_

"You're right, I'm sorry, I…" Kate walked away, into the living room, tears coming out of eyes she thought had long dried up.

"Damn it, what do you want from me?"

Kate stood in the middle of the living room, her hands up to her eyes shaking her head. "Nothing, nothing. I want you to go home. I want you to embrace your life with Lydia. I want you to have a relationship with your son and if that means partial custody, we'll work that out. I want you to be happy. _I just want one of us to be happy_."

House stared at her. She looked miserable and vulnerable and alone. "What am I doing?" He sat down on the couch and leaned into his hands.

"What do you mean?"

He stood up. "I need to get out of here." He said softly, his voice breaking with anxiety. He started to walk towards the door.

Kate followed meekly behind calling out, "Greg, I wish I could take it back…all of it back."

He turned again. "I should never have gotten you pregnant."

"It was an accident. We were in the moment."

"No, it wasn't an accident."

She cocked her head as if she hadn't heard right. "You're telling me that you intentionally got me pregnant?"

"I knew that the only thing that would get you to stop drinking and give you a reason to live would be a baby."

"You got me pregnant on purpose?" She stopped, her mouth open, head tilted. "You made a decision for me that would last the rest of my life?"

"Yep."

"You narcissistic bastard!"

"It worked, didn't it?"

She stopped in her tracks and clenched her fists. He had a point, but still, he didn't bother to ask her before changing her life forever. "Leave. Just leave."

House was indignant. How dare she not thank him for giving her back her life? "You wouldn't be as happy and alive as you are now if I hadn't sent my swimmers up your love canal."

"But you had no right making that decision for me."

"Oh, you wanted a baby; I was just kind enough to be the sperm donor. Get over it."

"Sperm donor? You bastard! You never really cared about us, did you? You just wanted to fix me, fix my life!"

"Do you hear yourself? You really think that I could sleep with you and not care about you?"

"_Oh, come on, Greg, you would sleep with Roseanne Barr if it was free sex." _She screamed.

"You bitch_! I love you!"_

Everything stopped.

Kate gasped and stepped away from him, her hands coming up to her mouth.

House realized what he had said and stood speechless, wishing he could take it back. The regretful look on his face wasn't lost on Kate.

"You don't really mean it do you? You're desperate to deny it, to take it back."

He was flush with rage as he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her into him and then pushing her to the wall. "I don't want to love you. But each time I see you and lose you, I spend the next few months just trying to get out of bed in the mornings."

"Greg, I'm sorry. I've screwed things up so much." She put her hands up to her face in an effort to stop the pain. "I don't know how to stop screwing things up. I keep pushing you away because I know I could be happy with you. It doesn't make sense, but as soon as we start to make plans I get anxious. I start thinking about Maxi and Keith, about what I did to them. I'm so afraid that we could be happy, really happy. It doesn't make sense." She lowered her hands and looked into House's strained eyes, wishing that she could comfort him, but he wasn't hers to comfort. "I'm sorry that I'm here, that once again I screwed up your life. But I had to come, to see if it was really over." She shook her head as her voice caught. "I'm such an idiot. I love you so much and I don't know what to do without you."

His body had been pressed against hers, pinning her back against the wall in the hallway. At the mention of love he pulled back as if she had stabbed a sharp instrument into his stomach. "Oh Christ, I should have left when I could. No, I shouldn't have come at all." He walked backwards until his back hit the opposite wall, his hand going up to his lips in a nervous flick. Both of them stood and stared at each other.

"You should go now. She'll be waiting." Kate said softly, her eyes staring down at the knees of his jeans.

"You just told me you love me and now you want me to leave?"

"Well, what good has our love done us so far?"

"Fine, I'll go."

"Go. Like I said, be happy."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he started for the door. Turning for one last look, his heart ached at the sight of tears rolling down her little cheeks, her lower lip quivering out of control. He crossed the six feet to her in less than a second scooping her up in his arms. House covered her mouth with his opened lips, his tongue thrusting into her mouth to touch hers. She reached around his neck and he pulled her into the guest room where he pushed her back onto the bed. Standing over her, he unbuckled his belt. The sound of the zipper coming down sent chills through her. She unconsciously opened her legs, the cotton gown sliding up her thighs as she did. From his angle he could see that she didn't have panties on, that there would be no impediment to his desires. He didn't bother taking off his white shirt or the sports coat. There wasn't time for him to completely undress, he was hard and he needed her. The trousers fell to his ankles where he kicked them off just before grabbing his erection and stepping forward between her thighs. He pushed her gown up further to see the pert breasts he loved so much.

"Christ, I can't promise much, I'm too aroused."

She reached down and grabbed his shaft, touching the tip of his wet hot pink erection to the entrance of her sex, rubbing the semen that had escaped around her opening to lubricate his penetration. It wasn't really needed; she was so excited that her juices had made her wet enough, but it did have the effect of making House even harder, his desires more urgent. House leaned over, putting one hand next to her hip to balance himself. Guiding him inside, there was a long primal sound that escaped from deep inside. His penis was so thick that he filled her completely. It was difficult for House to look in her eyes, the emotion was so raw that it flamed his desire. Slipping his palms under the cheeks of her ass, he lifted her hips up slightly. His hips started to thrust faster and faster until he was in a rhythm that gave him the maximum friction and pleasure. They both watched his throbbing cock slide in and out, the heat of their union making them both sizzle with pleasure. House couldn't control himself, the sound of his body slapping against her thighs filling the room One look at her, looking like a Victorian virgin, her eyes telling him how much she loved him, drove him over the edge. He cried out as he ejaculated inside of her and then collapsed, his lungs begging for more air. Kate didn't wait; she began rubbing her clit until he took over, his fingers dipping in and out, rubbing harder and faster until her thighs tightened, quivered and her breasts flushed. The sound that bubbled up from her lungs was a deep moan of pure sexual release. House wished he had something left; he would have loved to have ridden that moan with her.

Closing her legs and pulling back, Kate laughed. "Oh, God. That was more than satisfying."

"Sex with you is almost too good. You look beautiful lying there with your little gown shoved up over your breasts. Your body looks so much more sensual with a little meat on your bones."

"I never thought I'd get a compliment for gaining weight."

House began to undress as Kate pulled her nightgown down. "Get that thing off." He demanded.

"My gown?"

"If I'm going to sleep with you, I want to feel you naked next to me."

"Easy access?"

He smiled. "Nah, just want to feel the woman I love next to me."

She shivered. "Greg, what do we—"

A finger shot up to his lips, "Shhh….shhh! Let's just enjoy this, okay? Let's just have one moment where we're not thinking of how hard it is to be in this relationship."

She nodded and then stood to take off her gown while House slipped under the sheet, holding it up for her to join him. Crawling in, House gave her the appreciative once over and then touched her face as he leaned in for a kiss.

"I should have told you when Michael was born how I felt." He said.

"It's hard to admit you love someone after only knowing them a short time."

"I fell for Stacy after a week. You only knew Keith a short time when you got married."

"I know; which wasn't as romantic as it sounds. Getting to know someone who is already your husband is a little awkward, you can't threaten to stop dating them if they don't stop a certain behavior. It was a good thing that I did love Keith so much or I would have walked a few times that first year. But once he got the drinking under control our marriage was revived almost overnight."

"Drinking?"

"I didn't know it before we married, but he had a horrible drinking problem and he was a very mean drunk."

"Physically?"

"No, but painful nonetheless."

House covered her with his arms, not understanding how anyone could be cruel to her. He loved her, he really loved her.

"But, once the booze was no longer his emphasis, our marriage was great."

"Our marriage will be different; at least I have my demons under control."

"Marriage?"

"Look, the only way we're going to make this work is to put our brains together. You and I both know that being married will give us more incentive to come up with a solution."

"No." She said over her shoulder, looking directly into his eyes.

"No?"

"The answer is no. I'm not getting married just to give us a reason to make things work."

He pulled on her shoulder to make her turn over on her back. "You know I didn't mean it like that. I'd never get married if I didn't love you. I just thought you might need a reason to marry me."

"Loving you is reason enough for me."

He grabbed her and held her tight, letting the smell of her body and the fragrance of her shampoo fill his nostrils. "Then you should pick a date and we'll get married."

"Lydia?"

"I have to tell her."

"No, I mean, Lydia, do you love her?"

"I don't know. I care about her, but not like I care about you. I could be with a hundred women and if you walked in the room it would be all about you. Marry me." It was more a demand than a question.

Once again her brain argued against saying yes, but her heart drowned it out, just like it had years before when Keith had asked her to marry him. "Yes, I'll marry you, there's no one else in my world but you and Michael. Now try and sleep." They both fell into a comfortable slumber.

There was a knock around midnight so Kate got up and answered the door. "Hello, James. How did it go?"

He shrugged, obviously not in the mood to talk about it.

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. I just thought I'd go to straight to bed if you don't mind."

"Did somebody die?"

Wilson turned around towards the voice and found House standing in the hall naked. "Whoa!" Wilson put his hand up to shield his eyes from the sight. "Get some clothes on …and what are you doing here in the nude?" Wilson turned back to Kate for answers. "I thought he dumped you for Lydia?"

"He showed up out of the blue, jumped my bones and asked me to marry him…In that order."

Wilson's eyebrows went up and his eyes flew open. "He asked you to marry him after dumping you for Lydia?"

"I didn't dump her for Lydia. I just needed time to get my act together."

Wilson held a hand up and shook his head, diverting his eyes. "I'm not talking to you until you cover those nads."

House grabbed Kate and stood her in front of him. "My nads are now covered."

Kate smiled at Wilson.

"Are you really getting married?" He asked.

House, standing tall over Kate's head, nodded with a silly grin.

"I don't believe you." Wilson said firmly.

"Oh, it's true. He asked and I agreed to marry him."

"Why?" Wilson said, completely baffled.

"Why?" Kate asked back.

"Why would you marry him?"

"Hey! I resent that." House said.

"He's the father of my son and well, he's a damn good lay." Kate said.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"But married? Why not arrange for child support and then live together? House, do you really think marriage is a good idea for you?"

"Excuse me?" Kate said, getting pissed. "We love each other and we're getting married!"

"And where will you live?"

Kate's shoulders drooped. "I don't know."

House pushed her out of the way. "Look, we're going to figure this out. We'll live in Oregon if that's what Kate wants."

"Really?" Kate said, looking at House.

Out of the side of his mouth he said. "Well, I was hoping you'd kinda come up with a compromise."

Kate laughed. "Well, it's the thought that counts."

"House, _please_ put something on." Wilson begged as he pushed past the couple and went into the living room to get a drink. He thought about it and then went to the refrigerator, pulled out his last bottle of Piper Heidseik and popped the cork.

Kate went into the room and grabbed her sweater, pulling it over her gown and then joined Wilson. House grabbed his boxers and slipped them on before walking out to the living room.

"Here, I poured some champagne to celebrate your coming nuptials." He handed the glasses to the couple and then raised his own. "To a happy marriage. Good luck you two."

House and Kate both drank from their glasses. House looked at Wilson. "You think Foreman would be my best man? I was thinking he could help me write some rap for my vows."

Wilson rolled his eyes and sat down.

"Of course you'll be my best man…bros before hos, right?"

Wilson shot a look of embarrassment at Kate who was unfazed by House's statement. "Yes, that's right."

"Well, boys, I have to get to bed. I have to be up early to catch my flight."

"_You're going home?"_ House cried out.

"Greg! I have an eight month old child waiting for me to get home. You do remember our son?"

House grimaced. "Oh, him. He'll be fine for a few more days."

"I didn't really make arrangements for someone to take care of him beyond tomorrow…you think he can scrounge up some food and a few beers on his own while I stay here and screw your brains out?"

House narrowed his eyes. "Okay, okay. I get it. He needs a parental unit."

"So you need to come see us, Greg." She walked over to Wilson and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, James, for everything. I have a shuttle picking me up in the morning so you can sleep in."

House stayed out in the living room finishing up another glass of champagne that he'd poured for himself. He sat down at the island.

"House, don't screw this up. She's great, I like her a lot. I think out of all the women you've been with, she's the best yet. She's frank, independent and doesn't have any agendas. On top of it, she's beautiful and you have a beautiful son. You're one lucky son of a bitch and I don't think you realize it."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I understand."

"I hope you do. "

House frowned at him as he walked back to the bedroom, opening and closing the door as quietly as he could. He climbed in the bed and spooned Kate, who was already fast asleep. Her steady breathing soon put him to sleep too.

When the alarm went off, House managed to open one eye to look at the clock. "Four o'clock?"

"My flight is at six-thirty. I'm being picked up in twenty minutes." She ran for the shower and as she quickly shampooed her hair, she heard the tinkling sound of a man peeing in the toilet and then the door opened to the shower and he climbed in. "Greg, I don't have time for fooling around."

"I just want to be with you before you leave. Am I slowing you down?"

"No, but I don't have time to fart around."

"I'll figure a way to get to Oregon soon."

"Good, Michael and I look forward to having you home with us."

"He's eight months old; he doesn't look forward to anything but a nap and a good poop."

"Okay, his mother looks forward to you coming our way, okay?" Kate stepped out, toweled off and began to put on her underwear.

House stepped out and toweled off too. Fifteen minutes later he found himself watching her roll her luggage out into the hall. She turned and blew a kiss and then closed the door. House went back to bed.

**I really appreciate the reviews. I haven't been feeling very perky and the reviews really help ...just a few more chapters and we're done.**


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 41**

**The Date**

"I'm tired." Kate sat on her bed, the phone receiver tucked between her chin and shoulder while she was scanning her emails on her laptop.

"How's the rugrat?"

"He was quite pleased to see me today. He keeps holding his arms out for me, afraid to let me out of his sight. He's having separation anxiety. Going to work in the morning is hell, he screams and cries."

"I think you should pick a wedding date."

"Me? Aren't you going to help?"

"I don't really care when we get married as long as it's not too far in the future."

"Okay. What about September?"

"That's three months from now…is that enough time to plan a wedding?"

"I don't need a big wedding; I've had one of those. We can get married at the cabin."

"Let's get married down in Astoria overlooking your favorite bridge."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"There's really a sadistic streak in you, isn't there?"

"Admit it; you have a love/hate relationship with that bridge."

"I will admit that it's a beautiful bridge, it's just scary to drive. We'd have to have it at _The Loft at the Red Building_. It's really the only place large enough to have a wedding party and it's directly under the bridge."

"Perfect. You make the arrangements. By the way, I'm flying out to see you this weekend."

"_This weekend?"_

"Is there a problem?"

"No, no, not at all. I just didn't think I'd actually get you out here so soon after your last trip! This is great!"

"I'm bringing my mother."

"_What? What?"_

"She wants to meet you and her grandson. She's flying up from California and should arrive half an hour after I do. She's on Southwest 2342—take that down."

"Just send me an email. Jesus, Greg, I have three days to get my house ready for your mother. I have to go."

"Kate, your house is too clean. You're always cleaning."

"Greg, I have a ten month old child walking around now. House cleaning is my last priority."

"Walking? You didn't tell me. When did he start walking?"

"Last week on his tenth month birthday. He's wobbly, but he's definitely getting better at it on a daily basis. I had to run out and buy all these baby gates to make sure he didn't take a nosedive off the stairs. Now I have to go …I have a house to clean."

"Go get them Hazel."

"Hazel? Oh, yeah, the maid. Bye."

He hung the phone up and smiled thinking about the havoc he just reaped on her. The thought of seeing her had made him happier than he wanted to admit to himself. Her description of Mike walking had also piqued his curiosity. Walking at ten months? That was good; it meant he was coordinated. House thought about packing, but decided he had three days, that was plenty of time. He fell back on his bed and crashed into a satisfying slumber.

"For God's sakes, stop worrying. It's just my mother." House watched as Kate shifted her weight back and forth, staring up at the Arrival Board, biting a nail when the flight flipped to "Arrived".

"What if she doesn't like me?"

House snickered. "You're marrying me and you've given her a grandchild—she's going to _love _you. In her eyes, you're a miracle worker."

Kate dipped in front of the stroller and wiped the snot from Mike's nose and straightened the top on his outfit. House wasn't sure if he would have picked the white shirt, little bow tie, red cardigan and black trousers for Mike, he looked slightly uncomfortable and kept fiddling with the bow-tie in between his coughing.

"There she is." House said as he made his way through the crowd towards a tall woman with coifed brunette hair and a very pleasant, but refined look. She was wearing a Missoni pant suit with a black shell, black pants and very colorful, but tasteful, short-sleeved cardigan over it. She grinned when she saw House approach her.

"Greg!" There was a big unexpected hug which House uncomfortably returned.

"Mom, how was your flight?"

"Short and sweet. Where's Kate and…" She trailed off as they both turned and saw Kate pushing the stroller towards them.

Kate looked absolutely petrified, something House thought he'd never see in her. Then he realized that Kate had never had to deal with a mother-in-law. Michael Huntington's wife had died when Keith was in his early twenties and Michael had never remarried, choosing to date instead. Kate's smile was forced and her forehead wrinkled with worry.

"Mom, this is Kate Monaghan and Mike."

Blythe reached around the stroller and gave Kate a kiss on her cheek and a warm smile before turning to her grandson. "He's adorable. I'd recognize those blue eyes anywhere. May I hold him?"

"Oh, of course! He's got a cold, so he's not looking his best. Usually he doesn't have a red nose and snot coming down."

Blythe chuckled and nodded. "Greg always had colds; I'm used to them." She picked up Michael and gave him a kiss on his cheek before balancing him on her hip.

Michael, who was clearly miserable with his cold, didn't give his customary smile, but at least he didn't cry. He simply studied his grandmother for several seconds before leaning and reaching out for his mother. Blythe obliged him and handed him over.

"I'm sorry." Kate said, once again worried that Michael's behavior was a reflection on her.

"Don't be. He's obviously sick and it's only natural that he wants his mother."

"Your luggage?" House asked.

"I checked a bag."

Half an hour later they were well on their way up the mountain. Kate was driving and Blythe was sitting in the back with Michael playing with him. Kate could see that Michael was warming up to his grandmother because he gave her a hearty laugh, something he hadn't done for the last few, snot-filled days.

Once at the cabin, House laughed when he saw that the living room actually had signs of someone living in it, even moreso since his last trip. There were framed photos of Michael on the tables, toys scattered in a corner that had been fenced off for play and an actual stain, albeit small, on the sofa. There was a large piece of steel on the wall of the kitchen with doctor slips, Gymboree schedules and a list of contacts for the nanny, all attached by Disney magnets. House opened the refrigerator and grabbed a beer and was about to close the door when he saw the funny faces drawn on the eggs. He smiled and shook his head.

"Mom, you want anything to drink?"

"Oh, Blythe, I'm sorry, I was so busy trying to get Mike settled, I didn't think to offer you something."

Blythe walked into the kitchen and nodded at her son. "Water would be lovely. And, Kate, don't worry about me. If you don't mind, I'll find my way around and if I need something I'll ask or get it myself."

Kate smiled with relief. "That's great."

"Kate, you have a beautiful home. The grounds are lovely. I can understand why you love it here."

"I really enjoy living here."

"I saw a barn, do you have any animals?"

"I did, but I sold them six months ago. It was too much to do- having a job, new baby and taking care of animals that we didn't need."

"You sold them all?" House asked, somewhat astonished that he hadn't noticed the last time he was here.

"Yes, I sold most of them to the neighbors two miles further down the road."

"I'm going to miss that cow."

Kate giggled. "Greg milked his first cow here."

Blythe's eyebrows shot up, "Really?"

"Yes, mother, I'm now a milk-maid."

His mother laughed and patted her son's arm. "You never cease to amaze me."

The night went better than Kate had anticipated and by the time everyone went to bed, Kate was calmer and happier. They weren't bosom buddies yet, but Blythe seemed to genuinely like Kate and she fell all over herself to help out with Michael, who half the time looked miserable from his cold and half the time curious about the two strangers who kept passing him back and forth. Kate took some satisfaction in the fact that when Michael threw up it was all down the front of House's new designer t-shirt. After a brief spurt of curse words, House saw the mother-looks he was getting from both Kate and Blythe and shrugged sheepishly.

At four in the morning, Kate could hear Mike having trouble breathing over the baby monitor. She grabbed her robe and made her way down the hall to his room. Opening the door, the room was lit by a dim nightlight. Just as she reached the crib, Michael pulled himself up and put his arms out for his mother, tears coming to his eyes.

"Oh, Pumpkin. You're still not feeling well?" She felt his head and frowned. "Mikey, you've got a fever. Come on, let's find some baby Tylenol and get you a bottle of water. You need to stay hydrated."

Kate found the Tylenol and grabbed a bottle, filled it with water and took Mike back upstairs where she sat in the rocker and rocked Mikey until the door opened and Blythe stuck her head in.

"Good morning."

Kate looked at the clock which read five o'clock. "Good morning. Are you having trouble sleeping?"

"No, I get up this early every day and go for my daily walk. Is he better?"

"No, he's worse. I took his temperature before I gave him Tylenol and it was almost 101. It's come down, but I'm worried he might have a bacterial infection. I'm going to pick up a prescription of Amoxicillin later, just in case."

"I could wake Greg; have him take a look at him."

Kate smiled. "That's okay, I'm a doctor too."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. But, Greg is an Infectious Disease Specialist and a Diagnostician, I just thought..."

"What's going on?" House asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"You can't sleep either?" Kate asked as she continued to rock Michael.

"It's eight o'clock in Princeton. Sometimes I actually get up at this time; besides I could hear you over the baby monitor. What's going on?"

"Mikey has a fever." Blythe offered in the hopes that her son would rush in, diagnose the boy and cure him.

House did walk over and put a hand up to his head. "Tylenol?"

"Half an hour ago."

"Bacterial?"

"Not sure."

"Do you have any Amoxicillin?"

"Not on hand. There's a pharmacy about ten miles east of here."

"I'll go." House volunteered.

"You will?" Kate was clearly surprised by the offer.

"Just tell me where your keys are, write the prescription and I will go."

"Can't you write it?" Blythe asked.

"He's not licensed in Oregon." Kate responded. "Can you go in the library and get my pad out of the desk drawer on the right?"

House, prescription in hand, drugstore address plugged into the GPS, began the trip while his mother cooked bacon and eggs. Within forty-five minutes he was back and eating breakfast, feeling rather strange to be eating with his mother, fiancé and his son.

Kate saw the look on his face. "Too much domestication at once?"

A guilty smile crossed his lips. "A little. But, what do I expect? I guess I'm getting too old to be hip and single, huh?"

Blythe rolled her eyes.

"Honey, I'll always think you're hip…big time. Believe me, there are a lot of advantages to having a family."

"Yes, maybe now you'll stop thinking just about yourself and start thinking about your son's future." Blythe said.

Kate knew that being scolded for being selfish was the last thing House wanted to hear. The truth was that just from the little they had talked and seen each other over the last few months; House had already begun the process of being transformed from overgrown teenager to concerned father. But, you couldn't push him too hard or the teen would rear his rebellious head.

"But that doesn't mean that Greg the rocker can't come out and play." Kate emphasized the coyness in her voice with a rub of her bare foot up and down the calf of his leg.

House realized that they hadn't made love the night before, they were too busy taking care of the baby who was now asleep in the portable crib in the corner of the living room. The feel of her rubbing his leg brought home why all of this made sense. She made him feel young, even having a new baby had invigorated his life. He could never imagine Kate growing old like his mother had with her weekly visits to the hairdresser, bridge games and bus tours. He could imagine Kate skydiving when she was eighty, if she wasn't so afraid of heights.

"Kate, Mikey is a beautiful baby. Was Maxi pretty?" Blythe asked as she nursed her coffee.

Kate stood up and walked into the living room, grabbing a photo from the mantel and taking it back to the table. House hadn't noticed it; it had been placed behind another one. House smiled, it was Keith and Maxi both lying on the floor, their heads supported up on their elbows, smiling towards the camera.

"Oh, she was a beauty! And she looked so much like her brother. I'm so sorry. Gosh, Keith certainly grew up to be a handsome man. You know Greg, you two did look like brothers."

Kate started to take the photo back to the mantel, but House grabbed her wrist. "Put that picture on that table over there where we can see it. I like it."

Kate swallowed hard but gave him a grateful smile. "You won't mind?"

"Not at all. In fact, if there are others out in the apartment that you'd like to bring in, that would be okay too."

She teared up but managed to nod at House.

Kate couldn't go far because of Mike's illness, so House showed his mother Astoria and the famous bridge which they took over the Columbia river; his mother clenching the armrest the whole way. At four they returned and found Kate feeding the baby.

"Any better?"

"Fever is down and he's eating, that's a good sign."

"Would you like me to finish up for you?" Blythe offered.

Kate handed the baby over and went into the kitchen. "I'll start dinner."

House put an arm around Kate's shoulders. "I had hoped I could take you out. Mom said that she'd babysit."

Kate winced. "I don't know Greg; I'd hate to leave Mike when he's sick."

"The Amoxicillin is obviously working, he's probably going to sleep and Mom has our cell phone numbers. We can drive back if there's a problem. Besides it was my birthday last week."

"You sure she doesn't mind?"

"She suggested it."

Kate walked out to the living room. "Are you sure you want to watch a sick toddler?"

"It's only for a few hours. You two need a little time together without your future mother-in-law hovering around you."

Kate's face softened. "Blythe, you've been very kind. I don't mind having you around at all. But it sure would be nice to have a few hours out."

"Then go! I'm sure as a single mother you don't get to go out very often."

"That's an understatement."

Kate arranged for Blythe to eat one of her homemade frozen lasagnas which Kate had packaged in single portions. Then she ran upstairs and dressed, putting on a dress for the first time since Princeton. She put on a sleeveless army green shirt dress with copper colored sandals. Her legs were white, but shapely. She thought about putting on panty-hose, but decided it was summer and she wasn't going to bother. After a light application of makeup, a brush of her fashionably short hair, she walked downstairs into House's arms where he gave her a hug and kiss.

"You need more sun."

"I _knew _you'd say that."

"You still look beautiful."

"Thanks. Blythe, is there something I can bring back for you?"

"No, your lasagna is delicious."

They started down the road, both excited to be on their own, when they quickly realized that they didn't know where they were going.

"Before I hit 26, which way do you want to go? Portland or Astoria?"

House shrugged. "I don't know. What do you suggest?"

"It will take longer, but Portland has better restaurants and more nightlife."

"Portland, then."

Kate turned right at the end of the back road and onto Route 26. When they passed by the spot where their son was born, Kate shook her head and sighed. "I can't believe my bad luck with driving around here."

"That's why you need to move to Princeton. You won't have these curvy mountain roads to navigate during the winter and in rain storms."

"Greg, I just think I've had some back luck. I don't see this happening again."

"I hope not."

They chose to eat at Portland City Grill which sat at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city. The view was spectacular with both Mt. St. Helen and Mt. Hood in view. The restaurant was contemporary with mahogany tables and chairs, white starched tablecloths and simple but elegant china. House chose the chair next to Kate's so that they could both look out at the view. They talked, as they usually did, about anything that came to mind. House eventually put his drink down and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side.

"Beautiful view, isn't it?" She whispered, her head leaning on his shoulder.

"It's beautiful because you're here sharing it with me."

Kate pulled back and looked suspiciously into his eyes to see if he was being insincere, but he wasn't. "Greg! That's very romantic."

"I mean it. Everything looks new to me because of you."

"I feel reborn too…as if I've been given a second chance to get it right."

"Kate, you got it right the first time. Accidents happen. It was horrible, but if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here with you and Mikey wouldn't be alive. So, am I glad it happened? No. But I am glad you were single when I met you and our son was born."

"I understand exactly what you mean and I can't imagine my life without you and Mikey in it."

She turned her head up to House who briefly looked into her eyes before giving her a soft but loving kiss. His hand caressed her shoulder and House felt his emotions swell. He was happy, very happy and he had decided that being happy was okay.

"So, what are the laws for getting married here?"

"License, three day waiting period, good for sixty days."

"I think we should fly to Las Vegas and get married."

"Why?"

"Look, we've decided to get married, we love each other and we have a child. What are we waiting for? We can always have a reception later at that restaurant."

"I need to be married in the church which means you have to go through the marriage classes."

"Yeah, I figured that. I'll go through the classes in Princeton and we can get married whenever you want in the church. But meet me next week in Las Vegas and let's get married."

"Greg? _Are you serious?"_

"As a heart attack."

"What do I do with the baby?"

"He could be your maid of honor or you could leave him at the cabin on the porch as bear bait, but it might not go down too well with the neighbors. He's likely to do a lot of crying."

"I'll see if I can find a babysitter."

"Let me know on Monday."

"I will." She leaned in and kissed House as her hand felt the small lump under the microfiber fabric of his pants.

House closed his eyes and let the feel of her hand over his cock sink in. She smiled as she felt the lump grow thicker and longer. "Now what are you going to do about this?"

"Not sure, I guess I've created a monster."

"A one eyed monster."

"Here comes the waiter with our drinks." Kate stopped, letting her hand stay hidden under the tablecloth but still on his bulge. The waiter put the drinks down, gave them a perfunctory smile and left. House shifted in his seat.

"Let's get a room after our drinks and have them send up room service."

Kate grinned. "I think I'd like that."

They toasted. "Happy birthday, honey." Kate chirped.

They hurried their drinks, left some money and giggled all the way down to the Embassy Suites where they barely made it into the room before House had her dress untied at the waist and unbuttoned. Then he turned to his clothing, slipping out of his sneakers, unzipping his trousers, dropping them to the floor

"I know what I want to eat, and it's not on the room service menu."

Kate laughed as she kicked off the sandals and helped take off her dress. Lying back, she grinned as he pulled and unbuttoned and tugged until he was down to his boxers. Crawling onto the bed, he started kissing the top of her foot and then her thin ankle, up her smooth shapely calf as his hand slipped up the fleshy side of her toned thigh. He kissed the crotch of her lace panties and then looked up, his lids heavy with desire. Sliding the panties down to her ankles and then off, he used his fingers to part her lips.

"Nice…real nice. Your so pink and wet. Nice shape, like a closed Iris." He took his index finger and slid it down from her clit to her opening where he gently prodded. "You're so hot with your thighs open and ready. I think you deserve a treat. Do you deserve a treat?"

"I'd like to think I do."

He grinned and began the slow romancing of her clit with his tongue until Kate's breath became erratic and her eyes closed. She felt the wet tongue as it slid from below her opening to her clit and back before finally concentrating on her clit. When her hips started to subtly move in harmony with his tongue, House slipped down a little and sent his tongue as far inside of her as he could while he used his thumb to continue playing with her clit.

"Greg, Greg…God, Greg. I really think I'm going to explode. It's almost there."

House doubled his effort, speeding it up until he heard her scream out with a moan so loud he was worried the neighbors would call the front desk. Her thighs and hips quivered as everything tightened with the sensations of the orgasm coursing through her body. It made him hard feeling her body react to his tongue and fingers. Just as the orgasm began to slow, he climbed her body, guiding his rigid shaft into her wet vagina. His heart roared forward at the feel of it.

"Jesus, wet and tight, my two favorite attributes in a vagina."

They both chuckled and then House turned his attention to her breasts, grabbing one of her nipples with his lips and sucking hard as he cupped and fondled the other one. Lifting up, he watched as his erection slipped into her over and over. The very sight of his engorged cock thrusting into her was enough to make him explode, his head unable to focus on anything but his release into her vagina. Over and over he felt his load leave his body. When there was no more, he rose up on his palms, his arms wobbly and looked at her, shaking his head.

"Oh, man. I _really _enjoyed that." And then he rolled onto his back, closing his eyes.

"Honey, you can't sleep, we have to go home and relieve your mother. She'll be expecting us soon."

House rolled over and looked at the alarm clock. "Crap. I guess we should get going."

"Should I call and ask her how he's doing?"

"Yeah, maybe we can get a reprieve."

Kate dialed Blythe and as soon as Blythe picked up the phone Kate felt guilty. She could hear a screaming Mike in the background.

"Hello?" Blythe said loudly to drown out Mike's crying.

"We're on our way. It sounds like he's not happy."

"He was wonderful until about five minutes ago and now he keeps crying for Mama."

"Yes, I can hear. It will take us about forty minutes to get up there."

"Please don't rush; I've handled problems like this before."

"We'll see you soon. Bye."

Kate turned and saw a disappointed House.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I could hear him screaming from over here. He's got a real set of lungs doesn't he?"

"Yes he does."

"Well, if it's any consolation, my Mom always tells me that I screamed and cried all the time as a baby. It drove my Dad nuts."

"Thank God, Mike only cries a lot when he's sick or cutting a tooth."

They checked out and as they drove through the streets of Portland, House pointed to Jack 'n the Box and motioned for Kate to pull in. "I'm starved."

Ordering Bonus Jack's and Chocolate milk shakes, House and Kate started eating as soon as they drove out of the Jack 'n the Box parking lot. Kate hurried to finish her food before they started the climb up Route 26. The sound of her sucking as much as possible through the straw made them both laugh.

"I love milkshakes."

"But you love malts more." House said.

"How did you know that?"

"You told me a while back."

"And you remembered?"

"I have a photographic memory."

"Well, that's sweet."

Once home, Kate found Michael fast asleep along with his grandmother in her bedroom. Kate went to pick Michael up but Blythe woke up and whispered. "Don't bother, we're both fine."

"I'm so sorry, Blythe."

"He fell asleep less than five minutes after you hung up. Did you have a good time?"

"Wonderful. Greg is always great company."

"_He is?"_ Blythe asked, somewhat amused at the thought of her son being good company.

Kate grinned and nodded as she backed out of the room. She found House getting a drink downstairs. "Your mother has tamed the tiger and they're both pooped. I guess he's going to sleep with her tonight."

"Does that mean I have to perform my sexual services?"

"I'd love to say yes, but I'm really tired. Long week. Can we just go to sleep with visions of our earlier tryst warming our cockles?"

"Didn't know you had cockles."

"Ha, ha. I'll have one of those."" She motioned to the whiskey.

They both sat next to the dormant fireplace, House's arm around her. She finally nodded and turned to look him in the eyes. "Let's do it. I'll fly to Vegas and we'll get married. But, you have to promise that you'll go through the classes and we'll get married in the Church within six months."

"I promise, sweetheart, I promise."

"Soooo…when?"

"I'll take Friday off and we can meet in Vegas on Friday."

"Okay. You'll make the reservations?"

"I'll make the reservations."

"Are you going to tell anyone?"

He shook his head.

"Let's tell your Mom."

After a very heavy pause he nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

The next morning they announced to Blythe that they were going to run off and get married. Blythe was ecstatic. "Wonderful! I'm absolutely over the moon. May I come to the ceremony?"

"We'd like that." Kate said.

"Why don't you bring the baby and I can watch him. I'm not much of a gambler and I think it would be wonderful if he was there to see his parents get married."

"He's too young to register it." House said.

"But he'll see the photos later of him at your wedding and he'll love it." She pointed out.

Kate turned to House. "I'd really like for him to be at the ceremony."

There was a mild eye roll and then a shrug of defeat. "I'll get a separate room for Mom and the munchkin."

"That's great, I can't wait." Blythe added.

"Do you mind him staying in your room?" Kate asked.

"Not at all. We did alright last night."

So it was agreed that they would all go to Las Vegas. House called on Tuesday and told Kate that he had made reservations for two rooms at Caesars and that their wedding was scheduled in front of Elvis at four in the afternoon on Saturday, it was the only time slot left that gave them time to get the license.

"I'm not worried about the license, the registry stays open all night in Las Vegas, you can get a license by just driving up to a window."

"How do you know this?"

"I was maid of honor at a friend's wedding which was held after a night of gambling and drinking at the Sahara Casino."

"Wicked girl."


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

**Affairs of the Heart**

House arrived two hours after Kate and took a taxi to the hotel. Standing in the lobby was Kate dress in a blue empire dress, her beautiful legs ending in white sandals. House couldn't wait to claim her, let all the guys know in the hotel that the hot blond was his. She was holding Mike and standing next to his mother, Aunt Sarah and Daniel. Kate knew from the look on House's face that she had some explaining to do.

House leaned down and got in Kate's face. "What's going—"

Kate stopped him with a big kiss. "We're upstairs on the fourteenth floor. Don't worry, I called the hotel and got your Mom and Aunt a larger room and Daniel a room of his own. He's good with Mike so now your Mom and Aunt Sarah can have a break."

House shook his head, but in reality, as long as he didn't have to sleep with any of them, he didn't care. They all went up to the suite that House had booked for him and Kate and had a bottle of Mum's champagne. An hour later they all went to dinner at the local steak house and then Kate took House to see the early _Blue Man_ show. When they got back to the hotel, they found Wilson waiting in the lobby.

House grinned sheepishly. "I booked him a room too. I figured I needed a best man."

Kate walked over to James and gave him a warm hug. "I'm so glad you'll be here for this."

The next afternoon an overweight Elvis (even overweight for Elvis) married Greg and Kate as they giggled all the way through the ceremony. Daniel was Kate's witness and Wilson was House's. The ceremony lasted 22 minutes complete with photos under the _Arch of Love_, a seven foot plastic arch with red balloons, roses and hearts glued to it. Kate wore a strapless above the knee white satin dress with rouging down the sides and a shrug with a Josephine collar over it. A beautiful short beaded cap with veil sat on her head. House thought she was the most beautiful bride he had ever seen.

The wedding party went out for dinner again at Rao's, the famous Italian restaurant at Caesar's. They were given a table in the back because of Michael, who slept through most of the dinner. After dinner and three bottles of champagne, Kate made House take her back to the room where they made love several times throughout the night. The next day they all had a hearty breakfast and went their merry ways. House flew back home with Wilson, Kate with Daniel and Mike, Blythe with Sarah. Kate had vowed to fly out to Princeton for the Fourth of July holiday, giving them a four day weekend.

From the moment they were married, they talked on the phone or Skype every day, sometimes several times a day, both having a hard time ending the conversation unless there was a needy patient or screaming baby. Of course, everyone quickly discovered at their respective hospitals that the couple had married and so they both fielded questions about the wedding and if there was going to be a reception.

PPTH was more disturbed that someone like Gregory House could not only find a woman who liked him, but actually mate and have a child! Seaside Hospital found it odd that Kate had married someone so like her first husband. Little did they know that the similarities weren't as great as originally perceived, House was a different man in many ways and Kate appreciated that House had different attributes. But Kate didn't really care what others thought, she was surprisingly happy again although she had moments of guilt and depression for what she had lost. She was learning to enjoy the little things in life again. However, Kate, more than anyone, knew how fragile life was and always slept with the proverbial 'one eye open.'

It didn't take long for the pendulum of life to swing the other way, wrenching her new found happiness from her life. Just a few weeks after their Vegas wedding she received a call from Wilson.

"Kate?" Wilson's voice was tight with stress.

"James? What is it? Is something wrong with Greg?"

"He's had a myocardial infarction."

"_What?" _ Kate's heart raced and she felt dizzy. Sitting down, she asked, "Please tell me he's alright?"

"He's in the ICU, but the doctors say it looks good considering his history."

"You mean the Vicodin?"

"No, I'm talking about the previous two self-induced heart attacks. You know, the time he put the knife in the socket and overdosing on medication when he was trying to figure out the bus accident—"

"_Self induced? He never said anything about self-induced heart attacks!"_

Wilson did a mental eye-roll, only House would conveniently hide his medical background from his wife. "Well, although those incidents may or may not have done damage to his heart, this one did do some damage."

"How much?"

"His LVEF is 50%, possibly 5% reversible."

Kate sighed with relief. "Okay, not great, but he can get back into the norms with some work, right?

"Yes, the low norms. At least that's what his doctor is saying."

"I'm on my way James."

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Then I can use Greg's car to get around."

Wilson chuckled. "You do know he drives a beat up car?"

"Beat up?"

"An old Galaxy."

"Oh. Well, that will change when I get there. I'll call you with the details of my flight later, okay?"

"Great."

Kate was receiving a prestigious award for her work in Oncology that night, but she called and informed the presenter, Mildred Morris, of her dilemma. Mildred was kind, mentioning that we all make sacrifices for those we love and that she understood family came first. After all the arrangements were made at the hospital to cover for Kate in her absence, Kate packed up Michael and took off for Princeton at 8:30 am the following morning. She arrived completely exhausted from the flight, which had required a two hour layover with a cranky Michael in Atlanta.

"You look tired." Wilson commented.

"I haven't slept since six am yesterday. How is he?"

"Alert, looking forward to seeing you. He's been moved to his own room; he was causing too many disturbances in the ICU."

Kate smiled broadly and shook her head, somewhat relieved that House was being House. "Can we go straight to the hospital?"

"Sure."

"Any more news?"

"The doctor, John Downing, is great. He went back and looked at House's leg infarction. Most leg infarctions are from diabetes, but House doesn't have diabetes. When he had the infarction, its origin was undetermined, but in the years since the leg infarction, some rare, but identifiable causes have been discovered and Downing tested House for those. He found out that he has antiphospholipid syndrome. It causes him to throw clots, hence the leg infarction and the recent MI."

"You're kidding!"

Wilson shook his head.

"So what does he do?"

"He uses Ibuprofen to manage the leg pain so he hasn't been using any prophylactic aspirin. That's going to change. He needs to be on an aspirin regime."

"Oh, there's a lot that's going to change. He's going to have to make some real sacrifices…we both are. I'm taking him home with me to recuperate."

"To Oregon?"

"Yep."

Wilson said nothing, but wondered how that was going to work.

Once at PPTH, they went straight to House's room which was dark. She could see that he was asleep, his mouth open slightly. There were no IV's, just electrodes hooked up to his chest and machines. A quick review of the monitors and he appeared to be doing well, much to her relief. Kate sat her bag down and turned to take Mike out of his stroller. Putting the toddler on her hip, she walked over to the bed and continued to examine him. He was pale and pasty, little beads of sweat on his forehead. His beard was thicker than usual and He looked as if he had aged in the last few weeks since she saw him. Kate was about to quietly leave to go talk to the doctor when her son tried to reach down and touch House.

"Da-da?"

House stirred and opened his eyes. Seeing his wife and son, he smiled. "Hi."

"Hi back. How do you feel?" She said, trying to keep Michael from falling over as he tried to touch House.

"Like I've been through a marathon."

"You don't look like you're going to be running one soon."

"I'm not worried about marathons; I'm worried about making you do your marital duties."

"Ah, well, marital duties aren't all on one's back. You'll be glad to know that I plan on taking care of you while you get better."

"You're moving here?"

"No. You're coming home with me and your son, where you belong. I'll install whatever software and hardware they need so you can keep up with your puzzles, but until you get back to running marathons, you're mine."

"I'm not going back to Oregon."

"Greg, this isn't negotiable."

She said it so calmly, so confidently that House had a feeling he was going to Oregon. But still House gave her a look of disbelief.

"Seriously. You're coming with me. They'll have to give you time off to recover, you might as well use it at home with your family."

House was about to protest when he saw Cuddy entering the room. "Dr. Monaghan?"

"Yes?"

"Lisa Cuddy."

"Of course, I recognize you from that night on the sidewalk."

"Congratulations on your marriage."

"Thank you."

"And this must be Michael!"

"Yes a very tired and cranky, Michael."

"We have beds that we can bring in for the two of you, if you'd like to sleep here."

"I think once we spend a little time here, we'll go to the apartment and get some real, undisturbed sleep. Greg looks as if he needs a nap too. Dr. Cuddy, I was wondering how much time off Greg will get to recuperate?"

"Lisa, please call me Lisa. Of course it depends on what his doctor says, but two weeks?"

"I think he needs three at least. And while we're talking about it, what if Greg started diagnosing from our house in Oregon?"

Cuddy looked over at House for a cue, but his face gave nothing away. "Well, it wouldn't be ideal, but he could give it a try and we'll see how it goes; but, I'm not promising anything."

"I'd like to talk to your IT department, set something up."

Kate spent some time packing up some of House's possessions and shipping them to Oregon, including several guitars, some of his music collection and several pairs of his sneakers. She cleaned the apartment from top to bottom, purchased a small commuter car and spent most of her time with House.

Five days later, House was on a plane to Oregon in first class with Mike and Kate next to him. Weak, he was glad to have some time off and was looking forward to time with his family. When they arrived at the cabin, House found that the basement had been changed into a media mecca with the most advanced hookups to PPTH one could imagine. The flat screen above the fireplace had been replaced with an even larger one that could be split into two, three or four screens within the screen. A high definition camera was to be placed in the patient's room, one in the white board office and the others screens to be used as needed for conferencing others into the conversation. In addition to this, he had direct access to PPTH's computer system, lab results and email.

Within two days of being in Oregon, House found himself in a conference with Cuddy on one screen and his team on another, debating whether to force a patient through a treadmill test that might lead to a fatal cardiac arrest. Surprisingly, he enjoyed being in his own home while he diagnosed the patient, feet up, a glass of water and a piece of fruit in his hands while they all debated the case. Everyone could see each other and it made for interesting observations. His team sat up straight and spoke in crisp tones as if they were on a television program rather than just talking to him. Cuddy, a pro at teleconferencing, continued to work as she listened to the arguments. House smiled, he had a great view of her cleavage. Kate walked down and saw that House had increased Cuddy's screen to two thirds and most of the screen was now filled with breasts. She stood by the flat screen, her eyes on House, mouth pinched, arms across her chest and shooting zingers with her eyes. House gave her a weak smile and pulled the camera back while splitting the screen in two-half and half. Kate continued to pick up the room while House tried to diagnose.

Just as they were going to hang up, Kate mentioned, "It could be esophageal cancer although I doubt it. But you should still check it." She continued to describe her reasons for believing it might be cancer.

Everyone was pleased in the end. It wasn't esophageal cancer, but House was impressed with Kate's suggestion, the symptoms, once Kate explained the connection, were consistent with esophageal cancer. It turned out to be a different kind of cancer, one that was only discovered after House made the team go over the patient's body with a camera. House discovered the lesions himself, embarrassing the team for their failure to find them between the butt cheeks of the patient.

Kate refused to let House just sit around. She made him walk with her and Michael. At first the family would go on short walks around the property. He discovered that walking not only strengthened his heart and leg, but was cathartic and allowed him to concentrate on his cases, resulting in numerous breakthroughs which ended in a quicker diagnosis. Occasionally he would take Michael out and walk, just the two of them. It usually ended with Michael having to be carried, but House didn't mind. He was pleased that his health had improved enough that he was strong enough to carry his son. In addition to walking, House had even started chopping wood for the winter. He was surprised that he enjoyed the sense of accomplishment and great pleasure of actually seeing the physical results of his effort as the wood stacked up in front of him. Kate came home each day to a larger pile of wood. Eventually she had to stop him.

"Honey, that's at least two cords of wood. We're not going to go through that in a winter unless you plan on building a fire in each room 24 hours a day. I tell you what; I'll find something else for you to do."

More importantly, House was falling more in love with his wife and son each day. The tiny toddler was affectionate, trying to maul his Dad whenever he was home from daycare. Squeals and awkward charges in Dad's direction, culminating in Michael-babble, sloppy kisses and wrestling matches made House and Kate laugh until they hurt. House, changed by his brush with death and his desire to see his son grow up, quickly learned to enjoy his son's kisses and hugs and soon returned them with equal gusto. Michael's growth and mental exploration of his world intrigued House who spent a lot of time playing on the ground with blocks and educational toys. But, to Michael's delight, playtime always ended with lots of tickling and throws in the air.

Each day on his walked, House would inhale the clean air, smell the pines and listen to the water rush down the creeks on the property. He'd take it slow, stop to rest and frequently sit and think about Princeton. What did he have there? He had his practice, he had Wilson, he had his apartment. But he didn't have what was most important. He didn't have Kate and Michael. Being with Kate was wonderful; they were getting along really well, laughing and teasing, enjoying being a family. In another week they could start having sex again. He couldn't wait; it was hard holding her at night and not being able to consummate what his body ached to do.

House had no doubts that she loved him. The looks she gave him when they were all eating as a family or cuddled together in bed were dripping with warmth and love. The deepening of their love surprised him. In the end, it turned out that Kate as "the one." He loved them both…and he hated to admit it…unconditionally.

Surprisingly, House had fallen in love with his life in Oregon, with the peace and beauty of the mountains, the lack of stress and pressure from the outside world. This wouldn't have happened just five years ago. Not having the lifestyle he enjoyed in Princeton—the freedom to drink, smoke, screw and play music at all hours, wouldn't have worked for him back then. But things were different, he was different. He was the October Horse, the winner of the great chariot race of life. In the end, he had won; he had won the love of his wife, the adoration of his child and the peace he'd never had in his life. He'd have to sacrifice his daily contact with Wilson and possibly part of his career, but now he knew that he could make a new life in Oregon, a good life with his family. He could consult from his home or fly back to Princeton when necessary. He wasn't sure how he was going to make it work; he just knew he'd figure it out. The prize was worth it.

**The End**


End file.
